Mismatched
by NoobFish
Summary: Tara broke up with Josh? Well, what’s a best friend to do? Set her up on the best date of her life, of course! But like so much in Bonnie Rockwaller’s life, things don’t quite work out as she expected them to...
1. Chapter 1

Standard Disclaimer applies.

* * *

"You! Loser! Come here!" Bonnie snarled from across the hallway of Middleton High, stabbing her finger angrily at one puzzled Ron Stoppable. Some students stopped to stare at the unfolding drama, but a quick, icy glare from Bonnie sent them along their merry way.

Kim and Ron just looked at each other in bewilderment at Bonnie's latest outburst. Ignoring her violent outburst, they both shrugged at each other and continued what they were doing. As Ron turned back to his locker and coolly dismissed the fuming brunette, he heard her shout again.

"Loser! You know I'm talking to you, get over here now!"

"Quit harassing Ron, Bonnie," Kim growled through gritted teeth as she stood up for her best friend. "Ron's not a loser and you know it. And you can't order him around like that!"

"Shut up, K!" Bonnie snapped back. "It's got nothing to do with you, so tell your lapdog to come over here**...** _Right now._"

Ron just slammed his locker shut, and looked tiredly at Bonnie, "You know, Bon-Bon, whatever you want to say to me, you can just say it to me from over there. Not that I expect anything nice from you anyway."

Growling in annoyance, the lithe brunette stomped up to the surprised blond and grabbed him by the sleeve of his red jersey, dragging him into the janitor's closet, much to his surprise and yelps of protest. Kim started to go after him, when a deadly glare from Bonnie suggested otherwise. "Back off, K… I won't hurt him… Much. Just back off… We just need to talk. In private."

Using her right arm, she shoved Ron bodily into the closet. Ron found himself slammed against the shelves, and he yelped in pain, "Woah, Bonnie, that hurts!"

"Shut up, Stoppable!" Bonnie growled angrily. "Now listen to me, and listen clear." She cleared her throat, and turned to peek outside the janitor's closet to make sure that no one was listening. Satisfied that even Kim was not in sight, Bonnie finally shut the door and glared at Ron.

"Okay, whatever it is I did to piss you off… I'm sorry okay?" Ron complained in a high pitched voice.

"Stuff it, loser!" Bonnie snarled. "Have you gone on a date with a girl before?"

"Err… Huh?" Ron shook his head in confusion. "What? Bonnie, did you just hit your head or something?"

"Just answer the question!" Bonnie grabbed his collar and yanked it hard.

"Err… Yes, yes!" Ron nodded his head vigorously. "Many times… You know how the girls dig the Ron-man, yo."

Bonnie rolled her eyes and groaned. "Dammit loser, the last person I heard you went out with was with Zita Flores… And I heard that date ended faster than K-Fed's singing career."

"Hey, we went out twice, okay?" Ron protested.

"The second time was to return her sweater which you spilt marinara sauce all over, or don't you remember?" Bonnie riposted.

"Details, details," Ron waved his hands as much as he could in the tight confines of the janitor's closet. "It was still a date."

"Okay, whatever, that sort of answers my question, you don't know how to treat a girl on a date," Bonnie remarked harshly.

"Hey, hey, so what is this about?" Ron asked. "I know you aren't here to give me dating advice."

"Wrong, Stoppable!" Bonnie cut him off. "That's _exactly_ why I'm here!"

"Err…" Ron started whistling the X-Files theme song, and then made spooky UFO sounds. "Okay, we're entering the twilight zone here. Kim! I know this must be a practical joke! You can let me out now! Funny, haha!"

"No jokes, Stoppable," Bonnie yanked his collar harshly again. "Now listen here, Tara just broke up with Josh. Do you know what that means?" She eyed him carefully as he shook his head silently. "That means she's broken-hearted and miserable. That no-good jerk decided to dump her two weeks before Valentine's Day. And I intend to fix that!"

"What's that got to do with me?" Ron gulped nervously, as he realized that Bonnie was being deadly serious, with added emphasis on the deadly part.

"Tara always had a crush on you," Bonnie revealed with a growl. "You were just too dense to realize it. Which also proves that you are not datable material!"

"Hey… I got my moves, you know…" Ron muttered weakly. "Wait… Tara? Crushing on me?"

"You don't get to say anything!" Bonnie snapped angrily at him. She took a deep breath. "So here's the deal, I'm going to whip you into shape, so you'll at least be passable on the food chain."

"What?" Ron scratched his head.

Bonnie instinctively reached out and smacked him on the shoulder hard. "First of all, no scratching anywhere! It's gross!"

Ron abashedly pulled his hand away and looked guiltily at his hand. "Yeah… So… Tara wants to date me?"

"Yes!" Bonnie exclaimed exasperatedly. "That took you long enough. So right now, we need to assess how much work I need to do."

"How are we going to do that?" Ron asked timidly.

"Simple, by doing a practical field test," Bonnie smirked. "You are going to ask me out on a date."

"Say what?" Ron gulped in surprise.

"Don't think I enjoy this, I'm doing it for Tara!" Bonnie tightened her grip on his collar. "So don't get any fresh ideas." She eyed at him expectantly. "So what are you waiting for? Ask me out! Now!"

"Err… Ah…" Ron gulped. "So Bonnie… What are you doing tonight?"

Bonnie sneered, "I'm too busy to hang out with losers like you. Dammit Stoppable! Ask like you mean to, this is not a death sentence!"

"So Bonnie, would you like to hang with the Ron-man tonight?" Ron ventured with false bravado.

"No go, Stoppable," Bonnie groaned as she rolled her eyes. "Only madmen refer to themselves in the third person."

"Would you like to accompany me for a night out in the city?" Ron tried again.

"Too sixties!"

"I got some bondiggity dance moves to show ya," Ron invited with a waggle of eyebrows.

"For your information, even if Tara likes Grease, I hate that movie, so give it another shot," Bonnie snapped back.

"Err… Okay… How about this? Hey, Bonnie, would you like to catch a movie with me tonight?" Ron tried his luck.

Bonnie stared at him for a moment, before she nodded. "That was, almost passable," she replied haughtily. "But I suppose that would have to do for now. So what time are you picking me up?"

"Err… Six-ish?" Ron suggested.

"Wrong, Stoppable! Six-ish is not a time!" Bonnie almost yelled. "Well, you know what? I'll drop by your place at five thirty! At least that will give me a chance to look at your wardrobe! Then at least I can pick out something remotely decent for you." She turned her nose up at the clothes he had on at the moment.

"Okay… Five thirty it is then," Ron nodded weakly.

"Good, now get out of here," Bonnie shoved him out of the janitor's closet. "Ugh, I hope no one gets the wrong idea of what we're doing in here," she mutters under her breath.

"Right, right," Ron assented as he slid past Bonnie to get to the door.

"One last thing! _Do not_ let anyone know of this, or I will tear you a new one!" Bonnie hollered after him, as he quickly ducked out of the closet. Ron waved his hand back, giving the sign that he got the message as he scampered down the hallway. "Oh man, this is going to be harder than I thought," Bonnie rubbed her temples as her head started to ache. "Damn, that loser is going to give me an aneurysm some day."

* * *

At precisely five thirty, Bonnie came knocking on the front door of Ron Stoppable's house. She wore a stylish and comfortable looking light green top and a pleated dark green skirt that was more modest than her normal, borderline inappropriate clothing. Through the front door, she heard the sound of stampeding rhinos, and suddenly the front door was swung open, revealing a disheveled Ron, still dressed in the same clothes she saw him wearing at school.

Tapping her foot, she remarked crossly, "Well… That's strike one." She shoved her way into the house, and dragged a hapless Ron along with her by the sleeve.

"Hold up… What? What's wrong?" Ron yelped hastily.

"You're what's wrong!" Bonnie yelled. "This is a date, and you want to show up for a date looking like that?"

"This is how I always look," Ron commented absent-mindedly, looking down at his clothes.

"That's the problem," Bonnie sniped at him. "Girls like to see that you put in a little effort when you take them out for a date."

"Err… Okay…" Ron nodded uncertainly.

"So get in there, and take a shower!" Bonnie ordered. "In the meantime, show me to your room. I'll pick out some decent clothes for you."

"What?" Ron whined miserably. "But I just…"

"No you didn't!" Bonnie shot back. "Now move!"

Ron reluctantly led Bonnie up to his room. He threw open the door, and instantly Bonnie turned her nose up at the mess that is before her.

"Oh great," Bonnie groaned. "I can't even walk around here without stepping on something!" She gingerly stepped over a dirty pile of laundry and gazed around the disaster-zone. "So are you waiting for? Go take a shower!"

"Err… What about my clothes?" Ron asked.

"Shower first!" Bonnie snapped, as she shoved Ron out of the door. With a huge sigh, she muttered out loud, "Tara, you better thank me for this, and get me a huge Christmas gift." She gingerly picked up a few shirts lying around and threw them into the laundry basket at the corner of the room. After giving his room a thorough over once, and tossing most of the garments into the laundry basket, she moved on to all of the books lying around. She turned her nose up at most of the titles. "Sci-fic? Fantasy? He's is a regular geek! Dammit, Tara if you saw this, you'd run screaming for the hills."

Regardless, she placed those books back gingerly on the shelves. Taking a good look around, she felt that at least there is some semblance of normalcy in the room. She threw open the window to let in the fresh air, and went out to the broom closet by the landing and looked around for some air freshener. After spraying copious amounts of the sweet scented fragrance around the room, she finally got that horrid musty smell out of her nose.

She opened his closet, and much to her surprise, she found that she at least had something to work with. Bonnie figured that maybe his mother had purchased him some nice clothes. She picked out a pair of khakis, a simple dark blue button-down shirt and a shiny, unused leather belt. "That should do for now," Bonnie sighed, as she wondered how much more work needed to be done.

A gentle knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. "Yeah, who is it?" Bonnie called out.

"Err… It's me," Ron's voice called from behind the door. "Do you mind? I… Need my clothes."

"Just get in here!" Bonnie yelled out. "I've seen you lose your pants before!"

"But…" Ron's voice replied meekly. "All I got is a towel!"

"That doesn't matter! I'm sure there's nothing to look at," Bonnie snidely remarked. "Just get your ass in here and start changing."

Ron gingerly opened the door, before peering around the side. "Err… Bonnie?"

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about!" Bonnie sniped. "Damn, you're such a baby."

"Err… I guess…" Ron replied, as he stepped into the room, wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist.

Bonnie wasn't really prepared for what she saw. Instead of the scraggy blonde that wore nothing but baggy clothes, Ron looked really lean and muscular. His body was well toned, the sort of body that came only from a lot of vigorous physical activity: nimble and agile, yet strong. But what surprised her most were the marks on his body. The first she noticed was a large purplish bruise on his upper left shoulder that wrapped around from front to back.

_What the Hell, he actually does go on all those missions with Possible?_ She asked herself as her eyes traced a clean, razor thin scar from just under his right pectoral muscle to the ribs above the left side of his abdomen. This led to noticing other scars, too, such as three ghastly parallel scars that went all the way across his back, from the outside his upper left shoulder blade down to just above his right kidney. There were numerous other smaller signs of beatings across his body, most of them scarred over, but some still in the various stages of healing.

"Err… Bonnie…" Ron muttered sheepishly, as he shuffled unnecessarily around the room and tried turning his back to her, which gave her a closer look at more of the scars on his back. "Could you… Not gawk? I'm embarrassed enough as it is." He moved to grab a pair of boxers, hoping to put them on while Bonnie wasn't looking.

Bonnie managed to shut her mouth, and turned away for a moment. "Whatever Stoppable. Once you're dressed, sit down here, and we'll do something about the hair." She groused as she heard him sliding into his boxers.

"What's wrong with the hair?" Ron asked, as he slid his arms into the shirt, and started buttoning up. Feeling at ease, now that he had some clothes, he turned to face a slightly blushing Bonnie.

"You need some hair gel," Bonnie said. "Do you have any?"

Ron gestured negligently over to the dresser and replied, "Top drawer."

Wordlessly, Bonnie walked over and pulled out a jar of white goo. Sticking her fingers into it, she slapped some on her hands, and walked over to Ron. Despite knowing Ron for over two years in high school, she never really did know how tall he was. When she stepped next to him, she somehow felt dwarfed right next to the loser. "Sit down!" Bonnie commanded sharply to hide her sudden nervousness.

As Ron sat down on his bed, she ran her fingers through his slightly moist hair, and quickly smoothed his hair down neatly. Then she walked over to the dresser again, and picked up a comb, then returned to style his hair to an acceptable, neat fashion. She pressed down his ever-present cowlick, and swept the bangs out of his eyes, to the side.

"Good, now we're done," Bonnie replied, as she stood back and looked at her handiwork. The ruffled loser of Middleton High was no longer there; instead there was a young man, smartly dressed and well-presentable. Maybe even handsome, she admitted to herself. After all, if anyone could pull off a miracle, it would be Bonnie Rockwaller. She smirked at her own backhanded compliment. "Now let me wash my hands and, we'll be off."

Ron nodded, and told her, "Bathroom's down the hallway, first door on the left."

As Bonnie washed her hands in the sink, she took a good look at herself. Opening her bag, she took out her makeup, and touched up her makeup slightly. Satisfied that she looked as beautiful as possible, she snapped the compact shut, and blew a kiss at herself, before slipping out of the bathroom. She walked downstairs, to see Ron was downstairs putting on a pair of dress shoes.

"I see at least you have the sense to put on some nice shoes," Bonnie quipped. "So ready to go?"

"Uh huh," Ron nodded. "So where are we headed?"

Bonnie froze in her tracks, and stiffly swiveled her head to fix Ron with a death glare that would make Shego proud. "You, Stoppable, asked me out on a date, so at least have the good sense to plan out something! Let me put it to you this way: a date is to let a girl know more about you! Your tastes, your likes, and most importantly how far you are willing to go to impress her. Which is why you are supposed to plan out the date!"

"Oh…" Ron mumbled. "I didn't know that…"

"Then start planning now!" Bonnie almost screeched at him. She knew deep down in her heart that this date was already a bust. All the good restaurants would no longer accept reservations, and any possible sort of decent date activity needed at least tickets in advance. But she still needed to do this, to teach the now presentable idiot in front of her how to treat Tara to a worthwhile date.

"Right, then… Okay…" Ron mused. "Let's try Daniel's."

"You've gotta be kidding me," Bonnie almost shrieked. "It's a Thursday night, and you expect to just waltz into a five-star restaurant, and get a table like that? You have to call them first in advanced, at least _two_ weeks to get a table on a regular night, and over six months for a holiday!"

"Err… Yeah… Let me try and make a call first, okay?" Ron shrugged and nonchalantly went over to the phone. He whipped open his wallet, took out a card, and proceeded to dial a number. "Yeah, hello? Is this Daniel?"

Bonnie watched in amazement as Ron spoke casually on the phone to someone. He almost laughed and joked with the person on the other side, as they exchanged news of each other. Finally, Ron spoke, "Hey, I know this is a bit out of place, but I was wondering if you have a table for two tonight? I know you get busy at times… No, really? You sure about that? Thanks! Thanks a lot, man, I'll see you in a bit. Bye." Ron had a smile on his face as he put down the phone.

Bonnie crossed her arms as she snapped, "Who was that?"

"Oh, that was Daniel," Ron replied nonchalantly.

"I know the restaurant, I mean, who did you speak to?" Bonnie repeated herself.

"Like I said, his name is Daniel, he's a chef at Daniel's, and he says he can get us a table tonight at eight," Ron replied in a nonchalant voce. "So shall we get going?"

"Wait, do you know who the Hell you just spoke to?" Bonnie's voice rose to a high-pitch screech. "That was Daniel! He is the chef that _owns _the restaurant!"

"Oh? I thought it was just a funny coincidence that he had the same name as the restaurant," Ron mused as he raised his hand to run his fingers through his hair.

"Stop that!" Bonnie quickly interjected as she smacked his hand before he could mess up the hairdo which she had styled herself. "Don't ever touch your hair with your hands. And there's no need to be a sarcastic _ass_ about knowing Daniel... Wait a minute, how do you know Daniel?"

"Y'know… I don't really remember," Ron shrugged. "Must have been one of those missions I go on with KP when I met him... And we often talk about recipe ideas. He asked me to be his sous chef over the summer, but well… I had other plans."

Bonnie's jaw tried to literally dropped to the floor at the words Ron was saying, "You? First name basis. Talking with him as though you're his friend?"

"Yeah, we're friends," Ron mumbled. "At least that's what I think. He seems friendly enough."

"Right…" Bonnie waved him off as she wasn't quite sure what to believe either. But it seemed real enough, and maybe saving the world does have its own perks. "Shall we go then?"

"Right, this way then," Ron held out his arm to escort her, which Bonnie took with a smile. The smile was short-lived, however. Much to Bonnie's dismay, Ron had led her out the house right past her car, and to his scooter parked right by the driveway.

"This?" Bonnie glared in surprise at the offensive vehicle. "This is not a date ride! It doesn't even sit two!"

"Hey now," Ron replied warningly. "Kim and I have ridden to school many times on this!"

"But… But…" Bonnie stammered in shock as she struggled for words to voice her outrage. "Kim's your best friend! You have to have a proper ride! A car! Don't you have a car?"

Ron shrugged his shoulders, "Bonnie, if you haven't noticed, my family isn't exactly that rich."

_Oh, and the luxury furniture in your house are family hand me downs, I suppose?_ Bonnie almost said that aloud with a sneer, before she quickly caught it back in a choke. "Fine, whatever, we'll take my car instead, but I'm driving and this is strike two!"

Ron sighed, as he walked around Bonnie's car and got into the front passenger seat. "Right," was all he could say. He didn't know why he was going along with this, but hey, at least he was learning how to impress Tara. He had to remind himself, _Focus on the prize, it's the end that counts. _

The two teens sat silently in the car as they cruised towards Upperton for dinner. Bonnie finally broke the silence, her tone annoyed as she spoke up, "You know, if you keep this up, we might as well turn back and call it a night."

"Err… Why?" Ron was startled. He glanced at the dashboard clock; it was barely at six thirty.

"Clearly we are not enjoying each other's company, and to drag it out even further would make us both miserable," Bonnie remarked in a neutral tone.

"No… It's not that I don't enjoy your company," Ron hastily apologized. "It's just that… I don't know what to talk about with you. The most we ever do is trade insults in school, so there's really nothing between us to talk about…"

"Right…" Bonnie muttered as she pursed her lips.

"So tell me why you're doing this for Tara," Ron suddenly spoke up.

"She's my friend," Bonnie replied curtly.

"Hmm…" Ron let out a little chuckle as he mused. "You know what, Bonnie? It's funny how I remember you saying once that you wouldn't want to be anywhere within three feet of me, and here I am sitting in your car taking you out on a date."

Bonnie just scowled at the memory which Ron mentioned. She clearly remembered the day, when he had accidentally slipped on a puddle of spilt soda in the cafeteria and dumped his entire tray on her new blouse.

"Yeah, so you must be a good friend if you're willing to put up with me for Tara's sake," Ron continued.

"Don't think so much of it," Bonnie replied snippily. "Tara just did something for me, that's all."

"What did she do?" Ron asked.

"I was in a rut," Bonnie explained with a sigh. "I was just dumped by Brick…"

"Wait, wait… You got dumped by Brick?" Ron exclaimed in surprise. "I thought it was the other way around."

Bonnie gave a thin-lipped smile as she replied, "Spin control, I had people spread the news that way." She gave a hollow laugh, "Yeah, shows how little you know…"

"Wow… Okay…" Ron mumbled. "So what did Tara do?"

"I was having thoughts… Bad thoughts…" Bonnie replied grumpily as she twisted the steering wheel a little too sharply around a corner. "Let's just say that Tara came in time, and everything was fine, okay?"

"Okay… Whatever you say," Ron replied. "Anyway, I don't think you need to lie that it was Brick who dumped you."

"Oh yes, I did!" Bonnie shot back patronizingly. "You're so naïve about how things work! If word got around that Brick dumped me, my place in the food chain would have gone to waste, and… And…" She found herself clutching the wheel a little tightly, as something tensed in her temples and her vision went wild, before she shook her head and blinked hard.

"And you know it might make you seem more… Sympathetic?" Ron tried using a school word to impress his date.

"Hah!" Bonnie sneered at him. "Sympathy? Not my thing. Rockwallers don't need sympathy from anyone! Look, now that word has gotten around that I've dumped Brick, guys are lining up to date me right now!"

"Really?" Ron asked sarcastically. "If that is so, why aren't you on a date with one of them?"

"Because… Because…" Bonnie found herself at a loss for words. "Because I don't want to, okay? I'm taking my time with guys now!"

"You know one thing about a lot of those guys who're lining up to date you?" Ron asked quietly. "It's a competition, to see who can tame the Bonnie Beast, and… Well… You know…"

"How do you know that?" Bonnie's eyes narrowed dangerously as she gripped the wheel of the car hard.

"Well, word does get around, you know, guys locker room and stuff," Ron winced in his seat. "I mean, you seem like such a… Borrowing one of the names they called you… Hard-assed bitch… That no one decent would ever go on a date with you. All those guys are placing bets on who's going to score first…"

Bonnie gritted her teeth, as she thought about the attention paid to her by some of the guys from school. She knew the reputation of those guys, maybe Ron had a point. She quickly shook that thought out of her head; after all, the loser knew nothing. It's better to stick to something at least that loser knew. "Let's not talk about that, tell me about you and Kim then. You two seem to be tight, ever tried dating her?"

Ron squirmed uncomfortably in his seat at the question, "Can we not talk about that?"

"Why not?" Bonnie pounced immediately on a juicy topic she interpreted as weakness. "Hey, I told you something about myself, it's time for you to share."

"Yeah, well… I do have a crush on Kim, but… It's just… I don't think it'll ever work out," Ron glumly replied.

"Coz she only goes after the golden hotties?" Bonnie asked.

"Yeah," Ron replied sadly. "She'll never look at me that way."

Bonnie decided the blonde boy had felt bad enough that she didn't need to say anything to make it worse, so she fell silent. The two teens were caught up again in a web of silence, but this time, they didn't feel as uncomfortable with each other as before. Maybe they had something in common together after all.

* * *

Bonnie found herself laughing over dinner, as Ron told her stories about some of his earlier adventures with Kim. She carefully wiped away the tears in her eyes as Ron told, "Yeah… And I thought she was a monkey, and I brought Chippy to take her yearbook photo instead."

"How could you not know that the monkey wasn't Kim?" Bonnie almost howled with laughter, much to the chagrin of some of the nearby patrons in Daniel's.

"Hey, in my defense, all monkeys look the same, okay?" Ron huffed.

"Haha…" Bonnie laughed again. "I got to take a look at that picture in the yearbook again."

"Heh," Ron grinned weakly. "You know, Kim hasn't forgiven me for that yet… So it would help if you do not mention it to her."

"Why not?" Bonnie shot back. "I got the dirt on her, and I got the chance to let everyone know that she turned into a monkey."

"Look, maybe I shouldn't have told you that," Ron replied guiltily. "Could you just please, keep that to yourself?"

"Fine, but you owe me, Stoppable," Bonnie replied, as she picked up the last piece of ravioli with her fork.

At this point the maître d'hôtel walked by and politely inquired the young couple, "Is everything alright, Mr. Stoppable, ma'am?"

Ron nodded, "Everything is fine, Monsieur Pierre. We are enjoying ourselves, and send my compliments to the chef on his great sea bass dish; I thoroughly enjoyed the crispiness of it."

"I'm sure Daniel will be pleased to hear of your compliments," Mr. Pierre remarked. "Have you given much thought to his offer to work here over the summer?"

Ron let out a little laugh, "Mr. Pierre, now's a time for dinner, not business."

"I sincerely apologize," Mr. Pierre said with a smile. "I do not want to further interrupt you and your date tonight with such matters. Instead, do you want to see the dessert menu?"

"Sure we do, Mr. Pierre," Ron replied smoothly. "I'm sure the lovely lady wouldn't mind something sweet."

Mr. Pierre smiled as he presented the two with two leather bound dessert menus and politely excused himself.

Bonnie blushed at the compliment and beamed at Ron. "Okay, dinner is awesome, I don't suppose you can afford to take Tara out on a date like this every time, but for a first time this is simply the best."

"I'm glad I meet the Bonnie seal of approval," Ron replied with a grin.

"So what do you recommend for dessert?" Bonnie asked, glancing over the menu.

"I say the warm chocolate cake is my favorite, but the apple confit with soft caramel is divine too," Ron replied, without looking at the dessert menu.

"Hmm… I'm interested in the chocolate cake, but I'm afraid of putting on weight," Bonnie complained.

"Oh, don't worry about it," Ron explained quickly. "It's one of those chocolate cakes that's sugar-free, one of my recommendations to Daniel. I told him that people might be more health-conscious and they'd appreciate something with less carbs."

"Ooh!" Bonnie almost squealed with delight. "That's what I shall have then."

Ron nodded his head and raised his hand to gesture the maître d'hôtel over. He quickly ordered dessert for the both of them, and Bonnie wondered for a moment when Ron looked so much the part of a gentleman.

"You know, I had my doubts about tonight," Bonnie began. "I thought you would be a slob with bad table manners, from the way I've seen you in the cafeteria."

"Heh," Ron replied sheepishly. "Well, I thought that since this was a date, I should try to have better table manners… If that makes you uncomfortable…"

"No!" Bonnie almost shot up from the table. "I'm just saying it's a good thing. That earns you additional points in my book."

"Yeah, so can I ask, would Tara be impressed so far?" Ron asked.

"Well… You haven't really impressed me yet," Bonnie lied apprehensively, making sure to put the proper amount of disdain in her voice to mask her unease. "Though I'm sure Tara would enjoy it. But remember the date's not over yet."

"It's not?" Ron asked in surprise.

"You said we were going out for a movie tonight, so what movie are we going to watch?" Bonnie asked.

"Err… Bricks of Fury?" Ron asked hesitantly.

"That isn't a date movie," Bonnie groaned, shaking her head, knowing that she was going to get a stupid answer like this. "Why not the Memopad or P.S. I Like-Like You?"

Ron let out a silent groan, and muttered, "Well, you said I could choose. You said a date is where I let the girl knows what I like and my tastes."

Bonnie gaped at his quote which was almost ad verbatim. She did not expect him to pay half as much attention as he had tonight. "No! I did not say that! Okay, wait, maybe I did, but I also said that you should impress the girl! Show her your sensitive side."

"You know what?" Ron replied tersely. "I think that sensitive side is a load of crap, to be honest, I don't think a girl would appreciate me tearing up over a movie."

Bonnie sat back with a slightly surprised expression and looked at Ron Stoppable in a new light. "Fine, then, Ron Stoppable, what other suggestions do you have?"

"Well, I think we could try for a comedy," Ron began. "How about the Forty-One-Year-Old Virgin?"

"That movie got decent reviews, I'm sure we won't get bored during the movie," Bonnie nodded her approval.

"Okay, that's settled then," Ron replied. "So… What else shall we talk about?"

* * *

Ron didn't know when it happened, but somewhere during the course of the movie, he found that Bonnie had lifted up the armrest between them, and had leaned into his arm. He gingerly placed his arm over her shoulder, half wondering whether she would snap it off, but she only snuggled in a little closer, and he enjoyed the feeling of her warm body against his. He had this goofy smile on his face, and every five minutes, he glanced down at the brunette's head to make sure that he wasn't dreaming and that he was really on a date with Bonnie Rockwaller. It seemed like a distant past when the lovely brunette cuddling against him was a girl who detested him, and wished he was dead.

Together, they sat comfortably as they enjoyed the movie, dipping their hands into the same bag of popcorn. As the ending credits rolled and the lights came on, Bonnie still sat comfortably against him, watching the milling crowd pull away before she stood up and nonchalantly said to Ron, "Let's go." They wordlessly walked out of the movie, and Ron found himself holding hands with Bonnie, and she was chatting away freely about the movie. He wasn't sure what she was saying, but he enjoyed the feel of her hand in his.

When the two of them got into Bonnie's car, Ron suddenly spoke up, "I know I am to see you home and all that, but… Since you're driving… Well… I could walk home you know."

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Bonnie asked in surprise.

"I was saying that I'm supposed to see you into your front door, and not the other way around," Ron muttered sheepishly. "I mean, but since that it's your car, and you're driving and all that."

"Oh, don't worry about it," Bonnie replied quickly. "This isn't a real date after all."

"Oh…" Ron sighed. "I thought it was going so well…"

"Forget it," Bonnie bit her lip quickly as she reminded the both of them why she was doing this. "I'm doing this for Tara, remember?"

"Yeah, Tara…" Ron sighed again. "So next time I should definitely get my own wheels."

"That's right," Bonnie replied. "As well as get some fashionable clothes."

"What's wrong with the clothes I normally wear or what I'm wearing now?" Ron asked.

"For one, baggy clothes are so way out," Bonnie explained. "You don't have anything to hide, so at least, wear something fitting."

"I don't know, I don't feel comfortable in anything but baggy clothes," Ron replied.

"Well, you don't look good in baggy clothes!" Bonnie replied. "If you dressed up a little nicer, I'm sure more girls would pay a little more attention to you."

"Maybe…" Ron replied, with a hint of agitation, "But you've seen me without a shirt, Bonnie. Even this," he said with a sigh as he swept his hands over his body, "As comfortable as the shirt and khakis are, kinda hurts when they rub against the shoulder and that cut on my chest."

Bonnie stared at him open mouthed, shocked again as she realized there was far more to Ron Stoppable than he'd let anyone see. She swallowed and glanced away as she answered. "I... Yeah, that would kinda put a downer on dressing up regularly," she sighed lightly as she looked back, her expression unreadable to the blond "It wouldn't bother you too much to wear them for a date, though, would it?" she asked.

Ron couldn't help but notice a strange lilt to her voice. She sounded almost... _Nah, you're hearing things, Ron! This is Bonnie, she hates you and she's doing this all for Tara, don't forget! Though you could ask..._ He shook his head slightly and looked at the brunette next to him. "So did I pass or what?" he asked instead, his trademark goofy smile plastered all over his face.

"Despite your bad start, with the choice of clothes and stuff, you hit it off pretty well with the dinner and the movie," Bonnie commented. "You were mostly a gentleman, which is a good thing. I've been on dates where I spent every moment trying to swat the guy's roaming hands. I'd say, you passed."

"A-Booyah!" Ron cheered.

"But you still got a way to go," Bonnie went on, albeit a bit tiredly. "So don't disappoint Tara, okay?"

"I won't!" Ron replied happily. "I promise, I mean, I will treat her right."

"Yeah, that's good enough for me," Bonnie sighed, as she seemed a little distracted. "Anyway, here we are." She declared as she pulled up into the Stoppables' driveway.

"So when should I give her a call?" Ron asked.

"Tonight's fine," Bonnie explained.

"So this is it. Thanks for tonight, Bonnie," Ron gave her a smile as he opened the door, and was about to get out, before he felt Bonnie's hand on his shoulder. "Huh?"

"You're forgetting the last thing," Bonnie explained slowly. "If a girl thinks the date went well and would like you to ask her out on a second date, she'd give you a kiss."

"Err…" Ron did not know what he was supposed to say to that.

"So…" Bonnie leaned in quickly and gave him a light peck on the lips. "Good night, Stoppable."

Ron stumbled dazedly out of the car, wondering if that really did just happen. Somewhere in his mind, something registered in his brain, and he heard his own voice say, "Good night, Bonnie."

He waved as the car pulled away, and he was still feeling that euphoric high when the car's tail-lights disappeared around the corner. He stumbled into his house, still smiling, and wondering what Bonnie meant by that kiss. He found himself still half-dreaming when he flopped back down on his own bed. He wondered whether he should call Tara now, and ask her out, or give Bonnie a call.

Sighing, he picked up the phone by his bedside and dialed.

* * *

"Hey Tara," Ron spoke into the phone.

"Uh huh, who is it?" a female voice replied on the other end of the line.

"Hey…" Ron slowly dragged out his words, as he realized he forgot to plan what to say. "Yeah… It's me."

"Err…" Tara's voice sounded confuzzled.

"Oh wait…" Ron almost kicked himself for the obvious mistake he made. "I mean, I'm Ron."

"Ron!" Tara squealed into the phone before she prattled like rapid gunfire. "Oh my gosh, I didn't know it was you, you just sounded so different over the phone. So what's up? Why are you calling?"

"Hey, Tara… Sorry, I'm kinda... Distracted right now, um..." Ron began again, before he quickly bit his own tongue to stop himself from saying something stupid. "Hey… I heard that you and Josh broke up…"

"Huh?" The voice came surprised over the other end of the line. "Oh… Josh… Yeah… Well… It's rather complicated right now."

"Oh…" Ron suddenly wished he could crawl under a rock, and stick his huge foot down his throat. "I'm sorry then, I thought you two weren't together… Plus I heard you were going to be alone on V-day, so I thought I might… Hey, never mind about it okay? I should just shut up now…"

"Oh Ron…" Tara sighed over the phone. "That's so sweet… But Josh and I are just working through a tough patch, we're still together though."

"Oh, my bad then," Ron quickly apologized. "It's just… I heard… Bonnie…"

"Bonnie?" Tara asked. "Oh… I haven't told her! I mean, Josh just called me and said he'd like to get back together, and I was going to tell Bonnie about it… Wait… Did Bonnie put you up to this?"

"Kinda…" Ron squirmed uncomfortably on his bed. "I mean… She just… Well… She told me you still had a crush on me…"

"Oh Ron…" Tara sighed. "I did have a crush on you, and I think you're cute… But I'm really into Josh right now, and… Oh Ron… I'm so sorry… I didn't mean to hurt you…"

"Nah, it's okay," Ron waved off his hurt feelings, wounded pride and apparent crushed hopes. "It's nothing… Well, you should apologize to Bonnie, I guess… She made me take her out on a date, and put up with me the entire evening so that I could show you a good time…"

"She did?" Tara's voice rose in shock and surprise. "Wait, B and you? On a date?" She giggled with joy. "Do spill!"

"It was nothing much," Ron shrugged. "Just a dinner and a movie. We had a good time, that's all."

"C'mon, Ron! Details, details!" Tara squealed with delight. "Where did you have dinner?"

"Daniel's," Ron replied uncertainly. The phone receiver went silent for a moment. Ron panicked, for a moment, urgently calling out, "Hello? Tara? You still there?"

"Oh my gosh, Ron…" Tara enunciated each word slowly and dragged out each syllable as long as possible. "Oh my _God_! Ron, if I wasn't with Josh right now, I'd _so_ love to be your V-day's date! Oh my god, _ohmigod_! How did you manage something like that? How did you pull it off? What did Bonnie say?"

Ron attempted to fend off the spitfire of questions shot his way. "Err… Heh… I guess I just know a guy," he replied modestly. "So I just called earlier today, and he said he was glad to help. I didn't know it's such a big thing for you girls… I mean… Bonnie was only slightly surprised."

"Ron!" Tara replied patronizingly. "Don't you get it? Surprising Bonnie even a little is like doing something really fantastic. She's hardly ever surprised, and... Oh my god, oh my... Did she like it? Did she enjoy herself?" Ron found himself almost laughing as he pictured Tara shaking like a leaf in the wind in her hysterical ranting, but kept himself in check as Tara continued unabated.

"I think she did," Ron began slowly, thinking back on the memory. "Come to think of it, during the entire dinner, she didn't call me a loser or Stoppable once. And she laughed at my jokes."

"Oh my gosh, Ron!" Tara's voice had a distinct grin in it, as Ron could imagine her smiling widely, and being a bit calmer. "That was wonderful! Bonnie's always been complaining to me that Brick always takes her out to these steakhouses or family restaurants. I guess Bonnie's really impressed with you now. What'd you two do next?"

"We went to watch a movie," Ron explained. "It was a comedy, The Forty-One-Year-Old-Virgin."

"You know, Bonnie's been dying to watch that movie," Tara replied. "We planned to go last weekend, but then the blowup with Josh and everything happened, so I had to cancel. So what did you two do in the theater?" Her voice had a devious-sounding edge to it, as if she was leaning in closer to the receiver to hear the juicy piece of scandalous news.

"Nothing much," Ron began. "Just a little cuddling…"

"No heavy make out session in the dark during the opening scene?" Tara teased.

"No!" Ron spluttered in protest. "Nothing like that! We're just... It was just like a movie between friends."

"So you two didn't kiss at all?" Tara pressed on curiously.

"Well…" Ron drawled. "She kinda did give me a peck on the lips at the end of the date."

"No tongue?" Tara asked mischievously.

"No!" Ron almost doubled over into a hacking cough, much to the tittering delight of Tara.

"So tell me, Ron," Tara asked. "Will there be a second date?"

"I don't think so…" Ron replied. "I mean, it's Bonnie. Up till today, she hated me, and has been picking on me every day of my life in school. Besides, she said that date wasn't really a date?"

"I don't know, it sounds like a real date to me," Tara replied. "Plus, it sounds like Bonnie really enjoyed herself, and she might like you."

"You think so?" Ron asked in surprise, not quite able to suppress a doubtful snort at Tara's declaration.

"If Bonnie is anything, she's an honest person," Tara explained. "And if she doesn't like you one bit, she'd tell you straight to your face. So from what you've told me of tonight, I think she does like you."

"But this is Bonnie we're talking about…" Ron replied slowly. "You know… I know she's your friend and all, but… She's not exactly a very nice person."

"Oh Ron," Tara sighed. "You're acting so like Bonnie. I keep telling her that you're a nice guy and that she just had to get to know you. Bonnie's a nice person too, you just need to get to know her."

"You sure?" Ron asked. "Last I heard she makes it a point to insult all the incoming freshmen before winter break."

Tara let out another long sigh, "C'mon Ron, d'you really believe that? Just think about tonight, just tonight, and ask yourself, has Bonnie been anything but nice to you?"

"Well…"

"Do you know something, Ron?" Tara asked. "Bonnie hasn't really been herself lately. Ever since she broke up with Brick…"

"You mean when Brick dumped her?" Ron asked.

"She told you?" Tara asked in surprise. "Wow… Okay… I mean, yeah, ever since Brick dumped her, she's been a little broken on the inside. She really liked Brick… But she keeps it all to herself, and to be honest, I am a little worried."

"Oh, I didn't know," Ron replied guiltily. "I mean she seemed fine and all that when she talked about it."

"She's strong," Tara went on. "She doesn't like to show any weakness, so it's hard for even me to help her. But I think you can help her."

"How?" Ron asked.

"Take her out on a second date."

"Woah, woah… Hang on a minute there, Tara," Ron sat up on his bed in surprise. "First of all, I don't think Bonnie wants my help. And second of all, that wasn't even a first date. It wasn't a date at all… Even Bonnie said so."

"Ron, trust me, it was a first date," Tara insisted. "And if she opened up to you like that... Whether she admits it or not, I think Bonnie knows that you can help her. In fact, I'm sure that after tonight, she does want your help, she's just too proud to ask for it. She opened up to you and told you the truth. Something she's hardly done to anyone in the entire school. That means she trusts you."

"But… But… It's Bonnie," Ron protested weakly.

"Ron, do you find Bonnie attractive?" Tara asked sternly.

"I guess…" He sighed, knowing Tara would call him on it if he wasn't completely honest with her. "Ok, really, I can't really think of many people that think she's anything other than hot..."

"So you think she's at least cute, if not hot, right?"

"Uh huh…" Ron said, guessing where this was going but following the motions anyway.

"Do you like her?"

Ron sat there in silence for a moment. "Well… I don't hate her or anything…"

"But do you like her?" Tara asked persistently. "Think of your date with her, did you enjoy spending time with her?"

"I did…" Ron grudgingly assented.

"Then wouldn't you like to spend more time like that with her?" Tara asked.

"I guess…"

"Then ask her out on a second date!" Tara triumphantly crowed.

"Should I?" Ron asked doubtfully.

"Oh, yes, definitely," Tara quickly replied. "Tell you what Ron, just think about it for the night, and then tomorrow, ask Bonnie out again."

"But… But…" Ron stammered.

"No questions!" Tara cut him off. "Just think about it, and ask Bonnie out tomorrow. I've got to call her and get her side of the story now. Ooh… I'm so jealous… Daniel's…. She's so lucky… Anyway, her favorite flowers are baby lilies, remember that, okay?"

"Baby lilies? Right… Got it…"

"Night then," Tara said with a giggle. "Sweet dreams of Bonnie."

Ron almost cringed at the thought of all the nightmares the Queen B has given him over the years. "I guess. Later then."

* * *

For some reason, when Ron walked into school the next day, a typical Friday morning, there was something different with the general student population. Oh wait, this time instead of everyone focusing on his best friend, Kim Possible, as she walked alongside him, everyone had fixated some sort of look on him. He raised an eyebrow in surprise, and quickly shrugged it off as some leftover breakfast on his shirt as he followed Kim to her locker to grab her books.

"What's going on?" Kim muttered as the two heard a loud commotion of someone running, pushing a student or two into the lockers, and knocking books to the floor.

"Kim! Ron!" A panting Monique sped up to them, as she suddenly braked and bent over, trying to catch her breath. "Where have you been? I have questions!"

"Chill, Monique," Kim replied. "We just got to school."

"So you haven't heard?" Monique asked. "About him?" She stabbed her finger accusingly at Ron.

"What did Ron do this time?" Kim asked.

Monique took a deep breath before the words came out in a torrent, "Some people saw him going out on a date with Bonnie last night!"

"What? Ron? Bonnie?" Kim's mouth hung open a bit, before a kind Monique gently pushed her jaw shut.

"So spill boy!" Monique commanded as she rounded on the surprised blonde. "I want to hear all the juicy details. How'd you get her to go out with you in the first place?"

"Ron and Bonnie?" Kim asked again as her brain numbly registered what was going on. "Ron? Bon?"

"Yes, yes! Keep up with the program!" Monique snapped as she looked expectantly at Ron. "Now spill!"

"What do you want me to say?" Ron asked.

"Everything!" Monique instantly replied. "Is it true? Were you on a date with Bonnie?"

Ron could feel everyone staring at him and leaning into the conversation, waiting with bated breath, while his best friend and teen heroine, Kim Possible was staring at him as though he had just grown a second head. As he was about to answer, he heard a piercing and familiar voice yelling out in the corridor, "What are you losers staring at?"

He swiveled his head to the sound of the voice. As the crowd parted, he saw Bonnie strutting normally up the hallways, as though nothing had happened. Then it happened; it was almost imperceptible, and only his experience of helping Kim on her missions allowed him to notice it. Bonnie froze for a moment as her eyes met his, that instant spark of recognition between the two, and she instantly knew what was going on.

As their eyes broke contact, she coolly walked towards him, without as so much as giving him a nod of acknowledgement. And in her wake, an unsteady sense of normality returned to the school. As she passed by Kim and Ron, she loudly announced without giving the blonde teen another look, "Loser!"

"I guess that answers that, huh?" Monique sighed as students of Middleton High resumed their daily lives. "Well, it was just a rumor after all. I was thinking the world might have gone wonky if you two dated."

"Huh?" Ron's mind slowly turned its focus back to Monique. "You were saying something?"

"Anyway, Kim, you can close your mouth now," Monique remarked, as she gave the red-head a wide grin. "You know that look was out last fall."

"Wait, so you're not dating Bonnie?" Kim asked in surprise.

"Umm…" Ron began, not sure whether he should lie to his best friend, when thankfully Monique answered for him.

"I guess it was just a rumor," Monique replied. "She just treated him like how she treats him every day."

"Uh huh," Kim turned to look at her best friend, who was noticeably quiet and shifty today. "Ron, are you okay?"

"I guess," Ron replied. "It's nothing, let's get to class."

Kim watched her best friend as he ambled off to class, knowing that there clearly _was_ something, and if Ron wasn't going to talk, there was someone else she needed to speak to.

* * *

"Hey Bonnie," Ron finally caught her alone in the gym after cheerleading practice.

Her back stiffened immediately; she did not want to be seen next to him. She had spent the entire day trying not to be in the same wing as him, and when they had to meet during cheerleading practice, she'd tried extra hard not to make any prolonged eye contact with him. Yet here he was, patiently waiting for her to get out of the women's locker room.

"Can we talk?" Ron asked.

"There's nothing to talk about," Bonnie quickly snapped back. "Now if you don't mind, I've got somewhere else I'd rather be."

"I was going to say that I asked Tara out," Ron replied quietly.

"So I heard," Bonnie replied huffily. "I didn't know she got back with Josh, okay? So sue me."

"Uh huh…" Ron mumbled. "Anyway, that doesn't matter. When I was talking to her, she said some things, and that got me thinking."

"Yeah, you can go do your thinking elsewhere," Bonnie snapped at him, and tried to push her way past Ron.

"Bonnie, wait," Ron reached out and grab her arm.

"Let go of me," Bonnie commanded, without turning to look him in the face.

"Bonnie, would you go out with me again tonight?" Ron asked.

It was the longest moment in Ron's life. He was holding onto the arm of a beautiful tanned brunette and asking her genuinely to go out with him. He wished he could see her face, to understand what emotions were going through her mind, and at least let him know. Because it was a torture not knowing anything**,** of being on the cusp of two possibilities: she might turn him down, she might not.

"Ron," her voice came softly. "Why'd you have to go and do that?"

"Because…" his mind screamed at him not to say it. "Because I like you."

"You must be joking," she still did not turn to face him. "You like me, even after all the times I called you a loser."

"Not today," Ron remarked. "You didn't call me a loser today."

She remained quiet for a moment before she bit back, "What about this morning, by the lockers in front of Kim?"

"Bonnie, I may not be that smart, but you definitely did not call me that this morning," Ron explained. "You said it to no one. Everyone just thought you meant me, but it was different this morning."

"How would you know?" Bonnie snapped angrily.

"Because I saw it in your eyes," Ron replied confidently.

"You know, I don't like you at all," Bonnie replied coolly. "You're just imagining things."

"But… The kiss," Ron asked.

"So what?" Bonnie asked. "I kiss guys all the time. You were no different."

"But… You said… If you wanted a second date…" Ron stammered.

"You were supposed to ask Tara out," Bonnie repeated again, but with less conviction. "Not me."

"But I am asking you out now," Ron insisted.

"You know something?" Bonnie finally turned to face him, but her features were stoic. "Today Brick asked me to get back together with him."

Ron felt his grip loosen, as the words sank in. "Oh," he said bitterly. "I get it." He gazed down at the gym floor and realized, "Wow, I am a loser huh? Twice in two days… The girl I asked out always gets back together with her boyfriend."

"Ron," Bonnie began. "I'm not finished. I told him no."

"What?" Ron's heart soared for a moment. "So that means you'll go out with me?"

"No, Ron," Bonnie began. "No, I can't…"

"Why not?" Ron demanded. "Then why did you say no to Brick?"

"It's… It's complicated," Bonnie explained.

"Don't say that," Ron said self-depreciatingly. "Explain it to me so that the 'stupid loser' can understand."

"Please…" Bonnie sighed when she saw the firm look on Ron's face. "Fine… After Tara called me last night, I thought about it and I was going to say yes to you. But when rumors got around today that we went out last night, Brick came and ask me to take him back. That was when I thought about you, and I didn't want you to think that I was using you to get back at Brick."

"Then why won't you go out with me?" Ron asked hotly. "Is it because of that damned food chain?"

"No, no more excuses about the food chain," Bonnie shook her head. "No more. It's just, you deserve better… You deserve so much better. I can't say yes to you, because if I did, somewhere along the line, you'd think of yourself as the rebound, even though you're not. You'd think the only reason I'd go out with you is because I broke up with Brick, and I'd latch onto the nearest guy…"

"I won't think that," Ron protested.

"That's what you say, but you'll feel different," Bonnie replied. "I've seen it happen, and I don't want to do that to you, where it hurts you to be with me. Ron, trust me when I say there's someone out there for you."

"I don't want someone out there," Ron replied. "I want someone in here! If last night was any indication... Any at all... We like each other, and there's no problem beyond that."

"That someone out there is a lot closer than you think," Bonnie replied. "And you really do deserve someone better."

"But…" Ron said, staring at her uncomprehendingly.

"Thank you for a wonderful date, Ron. If things don't work out between you and her, come look for me okay? If we were truly meant to be, then we'd find each other again."

"Bonnie..." Ron replied softly, "What about you? You deserve someone too, and not someone that's only with you because of 'status'."

Bonnie felt as if a hot, metal blade twisted up inside her, shredding her heart to bits. She looked into those innocent, accepting brown eyes, and almost felt herself lost in them before she dug her own nails into her hands as she balled her fists. A rising piece of shame got caught in her throat, as she struggled to swallow her indecision. She had already decided, she wasn't about to change her mind. Putting as much disdain into her voice as she could, she cursed out, "Dammit, Ron, are you listening to me? Are you as stupid as I always said you were before? Do I have to spell it out for you like a doofus?"

She flinched inwardly at her words, as she kept her face as impassive as she could. When he didn't react, she changed her tone, "There's someone that you know, that you're close to, and she likes you, and yes, I mean '_like_ like', and... And you deserve better than anything I can offer!"

"Bonnie-..." Ron started, but Bonnie leaned in close to him, cutting off his comment as he gulped at her proximity.

After a silent moment, he looked ready to speak again when she silenced him with her lips, in a deep passionate kiss, as she held his face with her hands and pressed her body close to his. For a moment, she wanted to take it all back, take everything she just said back, and just say yes. She wanted him to do something, to prove her wrong, show her that he was like any other guy, that she'd be used and dumped like yesterday's newspaper. Her mind begged for him to do something, anything that would give her a reason to slap him, hurt him and prove her wrong about him. But as his arms wrapped around her waist and he made no attempt to squeeze her ass, or run his hands up under her shirt, she again felt torn apart inside, until a voice from earlier in the day she steeled her resolve.

"_If you _ever_ hurt him..."_

She broke off the kiss, twisted out of his arms, and picked up her fallen gym bag tensing her body to run for the door. She tried to push all thoughts of him out of her mind, as she heard his footfalls behind her, but the next thing she heard stopped her more effectively than if he'd have closed and locked all of the doors.

"Bonnie!" Ron hollered after her. "I like you!"

Her leaden footsteps fell silent, as she stood rooted to the floor in mid-step. She couldn't find the courage to turn, and yet she couldn't find the strength to leave.

"Hell, Bonnie... I think I'm falling for you," Ron yelled after her, then shook his head, sighing heavily. "No, I know I am... Doesn't that mean anything to you? Sure, some other girl likes me… Tough shit for her then," Ron whispered. Bonnie turned, staring at him with her mouth agape. She'd never heard him curse, and as she turned, she saw a soft, almost regretful smile on his face. "I hope I don't hurt whoever it is, but tough shit... You asked me first, Bonnie, and I do like you... I want to see how things go with you; maybe they'll fail like you said, maybe I'll feel like you're using me as a long term rebound. But maybe I won't. Maybe... Maybe things will work between us, and do you want to chance that they won't? I know I don't want to..."

"Please, Ron!" Bonnie pleaded with him, her eyes shimmering with tears, "Don't make this harder than it is. I don't know what happened last night, I don't know why I'm even doing this, I don't... I don't know..." She felt her legs go weak and collapsed to her knees by her bag, her hands curling into tight fists in her lap. "What did you do to me, Stoppable?" she screamed, her voice breaking as her scream echoed throughout the gym, her body shaking with pent up emotion.

"I could ask the same thing," Ron mused quietly, a soft smile playing across his features as he turned away from Bonnie and stared off into space. He sighed, knowing that he only had this one chance to say what was on his mind, and decided to just let his mouth do the work, and damn the consequences.

"You know, I used to have to watch soaps with my mom, when I was a kid." Bonnie cocked her head and gave him a quizzical look, as Ron went on. "I thought, I _knew_, with the way my life's been, that magical evenings do not happen. It is make-believe, that people suddenly stop hating each other, out of the blue, they forget their differences, all that bullshit. Then you made me take you on a date to teach me how to take Tara on one."

"What?" Bonnie said, thoroughly confused.

"And it was... God, I sound like the buffoon Shego says I am, but it was magical." Ron had his goofy grin on his face as he moved over to where Bonnie sat on the ground, lowering himself next to her and grabbing her hand absently. "And here you are, saying that you feel the same thing, only without saying it." He turned his wondering gaze on the beautiful brunette and saw comprehension dawning in her eyes. "I know you're scared, Bonnie, I... I am too. I've had one failed date, one chat at a theater ticket booth, and one good date. That's my experience with women. But that one good date is _the_ stuff dreams are made of… the same stuff they write novels about, that they make movies about..."

"Ron," Bonnie whispered, weakly pulling against the gentle, insistent pressure of his hands. "I'll just hurt you, I always hurt everyone I ca-..." she stopped herself, not willing to complete that word out of the fear of what it could mean. "I can't hurt you like that." She finally said, looking away from him.

"You're hurting me now, Bonnie." Ron said simply, shaking his head slightly. "Please, Bonnie... Please don't hurt me like this..." Bonnie screwed her eyes shut with that simple request, trying to hide the warring emotions from him.

"_If you _ever_ hurt him..."_

The words echoed back and forth across her mind, tearing bits and pieces of her away each time, until finally a small, choking sound welled up in her throat. "But what if the girl that likes you-..."

"Bonnie, if she really likes me, she'll see us, see... This..." he motioned between them in an agitated, jerky manner, "Then she'll understand, and she'll be happy for me. So how about this, Bonnie: one more date... If it works out, if it's a good date, we sit down and talk, seriously, about whether we want more than just a couple dates. No lies, no hiding the truth, just... Honesty." Bonnie opened her mouth to speak, trying to harden her face into the mask she'd worn a few moments before, but Ron brought her hand up and gently pressed his lips to her knuckles, silencing her. "Don't hurt either of us, Bonnie... Please?"

"I..." Bonnie wanted to tell him no, but found the words she'd heard earlier that day still bouncing around in her head. She realized she was giving Ron a small, coy smile as she nodded in agreement. "When did you get so eloquent?" Bonnie finally asked, a few tears marring her makeup as she broke tension that had been building up since the day before.

"Huh?" Ron asked as he leaned forward and brushed the tears away.

After he was done, Bonnie swatted at him, almost playfully, her tone taking a mocking version of her own vicious growl. "Doofus!" she exclaimed, pushing herself up and pulling Ron with her. She glanced down at her hand fitting comfortingly in his, wondering whether if it is where it belongs. She blushed lightly at the thought, pulling Ron out of the gym, her hand still clasped tightly in his.

* * *

A pair of eyes stared at the tableau from the opposite end of the gym. The eyes were tense with anger and the firm, athletic body belonging to them prepared to strike, but both eyes and body relaxed as they watched Ron's impassioned pleas fall on accepting ears. "Don't you dare hurt him, Rockwaller..." the soft, feminine voice grated, as twin tears sparkled down the young woman's cheeks. "He deserves so much better than what he's gotten before..." The woman scrunched her eyes shut for a moment, before reaching up and scrubbing at the tears running down her cheeks.

She turned and sprinted down the opposite hallway as the two teens in the gym stood and started towards the door. _I don't want them to catch me, it'd just be too awkweird..._ she thought to herself. But if that was the case, why couldn't she convince herself she was doing anything more than running away?

* * *

**Author's Notes**

Most Ron/Bon fics begin with the premise that somehow Ron helps Bonnie out in a tight sitch, and then she falls for her knight in shining armor. Granted I generalize, and even if you point out one or two fics that don't follow this formula, it doesn't disprove my statement. Yes, I'm uptight and defensive right now. Anyway, I thought "What if Bonnie intentionally associates with Ron, just for the sake of her friend Tara?" Hence the premise of this story, and somewhere along those lines she discovers he is a gentleman of many talents.

I guess when I think about it, it's not too convincing. I sort of had Ron pegged out as a respectful guy who wouldn't do much to take advantage of Bonnie. Maybe it was just her coming out of a long term relationship; maybe Ron is a decent guy who didn't look half as bad. I'd like to think Bonnie was right, that she might be on a rebound, going for the most un-Brick-like character there is. Not to say that Ron lacks charms of his own; after all he does have his small moments. And perhaps it's the finer details that attracted Bonnie to him, his beliefs, his caring nature, his empathy, and maybe even his uncanny ability to quote her ad verbatim.

This is just a brief hiatus from my extremely long multi-chapter, The Human Element. Sequel is slightly off schedule as I have yet to find the motivation or inspiration to write. My muse is still hung over from the New Year's partying. But the planning's done, and I'd get cranking soon.

In the meantime, let me respectfully request readers to vote for their author of choice in the Fannies.


	2. Chapter 2

"Are you fine with this?" Bonnie asked suddenly. She squirmed slightly in her seat, the distance across the table opposite Ron seeming to grow to her eyes with each passing second. She glanced around the intimate and comforting décor of the obscure Greek restaurant they'd gone to, which was on the edge of Middleton, near her hometown of Upperton, and far, far from any prying eyes.

As Ron chewed thoughtfully on his food, she nervously fiddled with the straps of her purple tank top, before plucking some imagined piece of lint from the tight fitting jeans she wore. Finally settling for staring at her hummus plate, she wondered at the blunt wording of the question. Technically this would be their first date; the last one didn't quite count because it was a practice date. But the last one felt so much more memorable; a classy restaurant, a good movie and a chaste ending that left her tingling inside. She didn't quite know whether to discount that as not-a-date yet.

"I'm okay with this place. The food's good," Ron nodded after swallowing, preparing to take another mouthful of his tasty falafel. "I got no complaints."

"I don't mean the food," Bonnie rolled her eyes. "I meant us. Are you fine with us... You know like this?"

"What? You mean the secret clandestine date far away from anyone who might recognize us and consequently bring an untimely conclusion to your reign as the Queen B of the Food Chain in Middleton High?" Ron asked, his words flowing in an almost sing-song fashion, catching Bonnie slightly off guard.

"Could you not do that?" Bonnie rolled her eyes.

"What?" Ron asked in surprise.

"Use 'school words'..." Bonnie replied snidely. "Normal people don't talk like that."

"Oh... Sorry," Ron blushed remorsefully. "Actually, some people I know do, but, well... I was just trying to live up to your expectations and all." Bonnie snorted slightly, and Ron continued, missing her eyesrolling at the declaration. "Bonnie, I know I'm not smart, but I thought that, at least if I _tried_ to soundsmart, then maybe you wouldn't be so embarrassed about having me as a boyfriend."

Bonnie felt a wave of guilt washing over her as she glanced at her hurt boyfriend. It took a whole evening of practice to get use to calling Ron her boyfriend. She had been forced to remind herself many times that the Ron she used to insult and cause great distress in school was merely a fictitious character in her mind; a conjuration she used to assuage her extremely needy self-esteem. The real Ron, the one she was determined to find out more about was a really interesting and decent guy and a lot more. The real Ron was so much more... Ronnish? He always found some new way of surprising her. It was these moments like these when she experienced both elation and guilt; elation because he was trying to live up to her expectations, and guilt because he was trying to live up to _her_ expectations.

She wondered why had she always demand that all her boyfriends be golden? Good-looking, charming and popular? Ron was none of the above, and yet... Why did she find herself smiling at his quirkier characteristics? Was it fair of her to demand that Ron change into someone she could strut around the hallways of Middleton High with while the current Ron seemed so… Likable? It would certainly be to his advantage. He'd be a lot more popular. He'd have a lot more friends. Those bullies would stop picking on him... Oh who was she kidding? She only wanted him to look good so that she'd look good.

But did she even want him to look good? Bonnie looked up at the young man dressed in a nice black striped polo t-shirt, clearly trying his best to eat politely without grossing her out. _He tries_, she finally realized, _and it's all for me_. The thought bounced lazily about in her head, the fact that the blond tried so hard to be good enough for _her_. She smiled to herself as she took a sip from her glass of water. Trying, something no one else had ever done for her. Maybe just trying would be good enough for her after all.

"Ron," Bonnie said, as she reached out and held his hand in hers. "I'm the one who is being stupid here, not you. You are not embarrassing at all..."

"Heh," Ron managed a weak smile as he glanced down at the tanned hand holding his. "I'm still trying to convince myself this is not a dream and I am actually on a date with you."

"You're not dreaming," Bonnie gave him a reassuring smile. "But I was thinking... How do you feel about us, you know, secretly dating without telling anyone?"

"I don't really mind," Ron shrugged. "It doesn't really matter to me."

"So you're not bothered by this?" Bonnie asked incredulously.

"Bonnie," Ron began slowly. "You know, I'm new to this, but I honestly don't care whether the world knows we're dating or not. I could hardly care about what other people think about us. But I know it's important to you because you have a reputation at school. So I'm happy keeping 'us' quiet as long as you are."

That guilty mix of pleasure and shame slammed into her gut like a runaway truck. She'd always thought her boyfriends had an obligation to make her happy, but she didn't quite feel that triumphant high of having her whims served. Rather she felt a little dirty that she'd even made such demands. Maybe she wanted to let herself feel magnanimous for suggesting it, or maybe she wanted to break this seemingly altruistic person in front of her, but she didn't quite feel happy with bringing her name up. "What about Kim? Are you going to tell her?"

"I was going to ask you about it first," Ron replied in a low voice. "I don't feel right having to keep this from her. We always tell each other everything in our lives and it's not right to _not_ tell her something this big. But if you don't want me to..."

Bonnie's jaw just fell open. "Did you just put me ahead of Kim?"

"Kim would understand," Ron replied uncomfortably. "I hope. Plus... I kinda wish you two would get along. It's not that difficult since you two have so much in common."

"It's not that simple between us," Bonnie replied quietly. "It's just... Kim doesn't cut me any slack."

"How so?" Ron sounded confused.

Bonnie let out a sigh. "You have been listening to her side of the story all this time, haven't you? You're going to be completely on her side..."

"Nah, Bonnie," Ron replied. "I want to hear your side of the story. I'm not taking sides just yet... But I do wish you two would stop fighting."

"Fine," Bonnie groaned. "But it's not going to be easy." She took a large sip of water, and dabbed her lips with a napkin before continuing. "She is like a slave driver, you know what I mean? The way she pushes and forces people to perform up to _her_ standard. I mean, it pains me to admit it, but she is better than the rest of us. Way better. But she doesn't seem to realize it. She seems to think that everyone can perform at that level... You remember her cheerleader tryout routine back two years back? Yeah, she seems to have this weird idea that if she can do it, so can everyone else."

Ron had a goofy smile on his face, as he listened to her. "Oh you wouldn't believe... Did I ever tell you of the time Kim tried to coach a little league soccer team? She literally sucked the fun out of the whole game so bad that her own twin brothers led a revolt against her."

"Really?" Bonnie perked up. "So you do get what I mean..." Ron nodded and Bonnie relaxed a bit, chewing her lip nervously before continuing with her concerns about Kim. "And honestly? I think she has something against me personally... Like she's always giving me the hardest and least glamorous role in the whole routine, and she bitches about how I have to step up like I'm not giving my best. It's like she's really just trying to get on my nerves enough that I quit..."

"So is that why you have been giving her such a hard time outside of cheerleading?" Ron asked.

"Well, yeah!" Bonnie declared out loud. "She deserves it, okay? She doesn't realize how hard she's making it for the rest of us."

"You know, maybe you could talk to her about it?" Ron offered.

"I did at first, but she just told me to quit my whining and just suck it up," Bonnie retorted.

"Kim said that?" Ron asked.

"Well, not her words exactly..." Bonnie shrugged. "But that was the gist of it."

"Bonnie, Bonnie, Bonnie," Ron spoke gently, "I'm going to let you in on a little secret. But promise me, you will never tell Kim. Never. Because Kim made me swear not to repeat it to any living soul."

"What is it?" Bonnie grudgingly nodded her head, wondering if whatever dirt Ron was going to dish on his best friend would be worth breaking this promise.

"Kim once told me that out of all the cheerleaders on the team, you were the only one she saw as a rival," Ron smiled. "She thinks that you're as good as her, and that if only you didn't spend half as much time sulking and trying to break up the squad with your Kim-hate campaign, she'd gladly let you be the captain of the cheerleading squad."

"What?" Bonnie gaped at the blond. "You're lying!"

"Nope," Ron shook his head with a smile. "All truth, cross my heart."

"She couldn't have said that," Bonnie insisted. She thought for a moment before asking, "Kim-hate campaign?"

"That's what she called your mission to put her down in everything she does," Ron explained.

"I do not hate her," Bonnie retorted. After a slight pause, she added with a bare perceptible whisper, "Much."

"You know, if you two got talking, I bet you could clear up a lot of misunderstanding between you two," Ron suggested.

"If she'd get off her high horse," Bonnie replied snarkily.

"Aww..." Ron shook his head. "Don't be like that. I was really hoping that you two could eventually become friends."

"Friends? Yeah right," Bonnie snorted with disbelief.

"So this means I can't tell her about us?" Ron asked softly.

Glancing up, Bonnie noticed the hurt in his eyes as he agonized over what she'd just declared. She did a quick count in her head. So far the score tonight was two for zero. Two for Bonnie. Ron had chosen her, Bonnie, his new girlfriend twice over his best friend and long time partner in Team Possible. Twice. The first was asking her permission before telling Kim about their relationship, and second was telling her something Kim had forbade him from speaking. What has she done for him tonight? Oh, nothing but be embarrassed of her association with a boy she had tormented much of her high school life and simply made him hide their relationship from everyone. So far the relationship had been all about her and had none of him.

"I guess we can tell her," Bonnie grudgingly nodded her head.

The smile that erupted on his face let her know without doubt that she had done the right thing. The way he beamed at her was just infectious. "That's great!" he could barely contain his joy. "I'll tell her later tonight."

"No," Bonnie replied, making Ron's smile falter slightly. She paused for a moment to savor the control she felt over him before she continued in a soft tone. "_We'll_ tell her tonight."

"We?" Ron raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Yeah," Bonnie nodded with a coy smile. "_We_ will tell her together, because _we_ are a couple."

"Ah-boo-yah!" he intoned as he grabbed her hand gently, accenting his utterance by kissing the knuckles of her hand gently.

* * *

Kim came flying down the stairs and clamored towards the front door. From the distinctive knocking on the door, she knew that Ron had decided to pay her a late visit. Maybe to copy some homework he'd 

forgotten to do, or maybe just to hang out. "Coming!" she yelled out before she swung open the front door.

"Hey," Ron offered hesitantly.

"Ron..." Kim's eyes fell upon the girl standing next to him, and her voice turned colder than a mountaintop winter storm. "What is Bonnie doing here?"

"About that..." Ron replied sheepishly, a nervous laugh escaping his lips. "I don't really know how to say this any other way, so I'd just come out with it." He draped an arm over Bonnie's shoulder and pulled her a little closer. Too close for Kim's comfort. "Bonnie's my new girlfriend."

Bonnie cringed, not from Ron's embrace but into it, fear and unpleasant anticipation of a kung-fu demonstration by one outraged red-headed teen heroine driving her into his comforting arm. Biting her lower lip, she leaned in a little more towards Ron, wondering if Ron would act as a deterrent for any act of violence, or in the very least, distract Kim long enough for her to run back to her car and drive off.

"KP?" Ron shook her shoulder slightly as his voice filled with concern. "Do you... Ah... Earth to KP?"

Bonnie would remember this as the day as the day the great Kim Possible fell: to everyone's surprise, a mortified Kim Possible slumped to the floor as she fainted right on her front doorstep and into the arms of two very confused, chagrinned teens.

A pained groan escaped her lips as she felt someone place a damp towel over her forehead. She raised her head to rub her eyes as she saw someone shine a flashlight into her eyes. "Mom?" she groaned out.

"Kim," Mrs. Dr. Possible asked. "How do you feel?"

"I'm fine, mom," Kim moaned, as she rubbed her eyes. "I... I just had a nightmare..."

"Focus, look at me," her mother ordered, as she waved her hand in front of Kim's face. "Good," she nodded, as she sat back. "I think you just had a shock, that's all."

"Tell me about it, mom," Kim tilted her head a little to realize she was lying on the family's sofa. "It was a strange nightmare. I dreamt that Ron and Bonnie hooked up and they showed up at the house to tell me..."

Her mother looked at her concernedly. "Kim, I think you better sit up," she offered, as she slid an arm around Kim's shoulders to help her up.

"Thanks mom..." she smiled at her mother before she looked around the room. Everything was in place, except that... "Mom, I think something _is_ wrong with me," she turned to her mother. "I think I'm still seeing things. Bonnie is in our living room, and she's sitting awfully close to Ron and holding hands with him."

"Kim..." her mom placed a comforting hand on her daughter's shoulder. "You're not seeing things."

"Hey, K," Bonnie gave a little wave, as she looked nervously at Kim.

"Kim..." her mom called her name gently as she pushed her jaw shut. "It's not polite to gape at people."

"KP?" Ron smiled nervously. "Hey... How are you doing?" He waved his right hand at Kim. "KP? Hello? Mrs. Dr. P? Did she just faint again?"

"No, she's alright," Mrs. Dr. Possible smiled at Ron. "Just give her a moment, and I think she'll be fine... And it seems like you kids have a lot to talk about." She got up from the sofa that Kim was sitting on and headed on upstairs to give the trio a little privacy.

An uncomfortable minute ticked up, as the three of them just stared at each other. "Boy, this is awkweird," Ron finally muttered to break the silence. "So, KP..."

"How long, exactly? Tonight was your first date??" Kim suddenly demanded a little too hostilely when her mouth decided to function again.

Ron felt Bonnie cringe a little beside him. "About that," Ron replied sheepishly. "Tonight was our first _real_ date, yeah..."

Bonnie could feel the thundering silence of questions that were popping into Kim's head, but were unable to come out of her suddenly paralyzed mouth. Maybe this is a good time to run, she thought to herself. She might just have enough time to get out of the country, France is nice this time of the year.

"Ron, kitchen, now!" Kim suddenly stood up as she hauled Ron by the shirt to the back of the house.

As Ron reluctantly followed, he turned back to Bonnie and mouthed silently to her. "It'll be okay," he reassured her. Bonnie wasn't quite sure how he could say something like that, as the average kitchen which was effectively the most dangerous room in a house, usually having no less than twenty-three different sharp objects that could be used to impale, maim and crucify a man. She glanced nervously at the front door. Fifteen feet had never seemed so far and impassable. She curled her legs up on the chair and hugged the throw pillow in front of her tightly. _Without Ron, this feeble thing will just have to do the brave job of offering comfort in the face of an angry Kim Possible!_ she thought to herself nervously.

She braced herself for the ensuing shouting and typical hurled cutlery of a domestic dispute, but all she could hear were angry whispers. Craning her neck, she strained to her their words.

"What... Thinking? Bonnie... No, you listen..." Kim's angry voice mangled half the words she was speaking. Ron's however was more muffled and Bonnie could only tell that Ron was still alive and talking by the long pauses in between Kim's words.

"You're my friend but... I don't... Hard... I am... But look at her... plotting… Ron, listen to me… How can you…"

Bonnie's heart sank a little lower, as she didn't feel that it was going so well. Maybe telling Kim was a bad idea after all. Maybe if she snuck into the kitchen and gave Ron a big fat kiss in front of her, Kim would go into a cardiac arrest and solve everyone's problems once and for all. Sure, Ron would be sad 

over the passing of his best friend, but then they might be able to date a little more openly. Plus she'd be able to be cheer captain and Kim wouldn't get to boss her around anymore...

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Kim and Ron storming back into the living room. More like Kim was storming and Ron was dragging his feet with a weary smile on his face. He quickly flashed her a thumbs up sign, then moved to slide in next to her.

"So..." Kim intoned dangerously as she eyed Bonnie. "Is this some sort of game to get me?"

"Not everything is about you, you know," Bonnie sniped back. "You think I'm doing this for you, but have you ever thought for a moment this could be about Ron instead?"

"Since when have you cared about Ron?" Kim raised her voice. "Last I heard, you were still calling him loser. Hell, I _heard_ you call him a D-..." Kim stopped herself as she blushed slightly, then went on in a more even tone, "So forgive me if I think that you're using Ron for some twisted little payback plan of yours."

"No one is using anyone here," Bonnie remarked angrily. "Well... At least I can speak for myself when I say that."

"What do you mean?" Kim growled through gritted teeth.

"Oh, nothing," Bonnie remarked airily. "I just don't make him gallivant around the world just to follow me around and risk his _life_ because of some weird hobby of mine."

"Bonnie..." Ron interrupted worriedly, as he pulled her a little closer to her and away from a seething Kim. "Please don't try to make things worse."

"She's the one who started it!" Bonnie retorted angrily. "And if you are not on my side, then maybe she's right, we probably shouldn't see each other!"

"Bonnie..." Ron replied worriedly, having a good idea what the brief stab of pain he saw in her eyes meant. "C'mon... You don't mean that... You're my girlfriend and Kim's my best friend. You both are very important to me. Please don't make me choose between you two."

The two girls eyed each other hostilely for a moment as they considered his words. Bonnie had crossed her arms and was glowering at Kim, while Kim had found herself tensed up and clenching her fists in anger.

"Ron," Kim asked grimly. "Could you leave us alone for a minute? Bonnie and I have things to discuss privately."

"Ah... I'm not sure if that's a good idea," Ron tried to placate her. "Can't we all just get along?"

"Ron!" Kim insisted.

"KP, c'mon, I don't want to see you two fighting," Ron whined desperately.

"Go on, Ron," Bonnie spoke up. "I'll be fine. Kim and I just need to settle our differences privately."

"Aww... Bonnie..." Ron looked at her. "At least promise me there won't be any fighting."

"Promise, Ron," Kim nodded evenly.

"Okay," Bonnie agreed too. She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze as Ron despondently got up and looked forlornly at the two girls. He walked up to Kim and placed a hand on her stiff shoulder.

"KP, please try to be nice to her and understand where she's coming from... For me?" he asked his best friend quietly. He couldn't quite fathom the pained look on Kim's face as she looked back at him. Surely he wasn't asking too much. Ron let himself out the front door as he leaned against the hood of Bonnie's car. He kept glancing up anxiously at the front door, half-expecting his new girlfriend to fly out the window in a shower of broken glass at any moment now. Then his best friend would charge out after her in her super-power suit and proceed to lay the proverbial smack down on Bonnie's tanned face.

Then after five cop cars, two ambulances, one court injunction, three counts of assault and battery and attempted manslaughter, and fifteen years at Sing Sing, Ron was pacing with the unholy trepidation of fearing for one or both of their safety. He shook his head to clear his thoughts of the horrible image in his mind; Kim in a maximum security prison and Bonnie six feet under, and both of them blaming him for their fates.

Was Kim slamming Bonnie's head repeatedly on the coffee table right now? Was Bonnie pulling off Kim's hair by the roots? Was Kim hurling Bonnie against her family's expensive home theater system? Was Bonnie kicking Kim in the ribs while she's down? Was Kim's mother coming down to behold her living room had turned into one of the bloodiest crime scenes in the history of mankind?

"Oh man!" Ron groaned out loud as he cursed his overactive, paranoid imagination. He paced around anxiously as he wondered whether he should bang on the front door to interrupt the ensuing Kimmageddon or the Bonnie-Murders. He had never felt the greatest urge before to prostate himself on the ground and pray to the powers that be that nothing was happening and that the benevolent powers were looking out for Kim and Bonnie.

After the most agonizing fifteen minutes of Ron's life decided that it was time to move on: the front door of Kim's house finally opened, and miraculously out stepped Bonnie and Kim. Relatively unharmed, Ron might add. There might have been more than a fair share of hurt feelings and bruised egos, but at least there didn't seem to be much of a catfight that Ron had just spent the last five minutes worrying over. He immediately rushed over and gave Bonnie a tight hug.

"Hey, Bonnie, are you okay?" Ron asked, his voice full of concern as he swept her hair back with his hand and studied her face closely for any signs of physical damage.

"I'm fine, Ron," Bonnie gave him a reassuring smile at his loving attention. "And no, we didn't fight so you don't have to keep fussing over me. Kim and I came to an understanding."

"Really?" Ron couldn't help but feel overjoyed. "So she's alright with us?"

"Uh huh," Bonnie nodded her head with a smile. "She also agreed to keep this between us and Tara, while we slowly get people in the school to come around to the idea of us dating."

"You mean... We're..." Ron asked.

"Yeah, we're officially boyfriend and girlfriend," Bonnie smiled, feeling relieved that she was able to say that. "Kim's the first one to know. So don't disappoint us, 'kay?"

"Right," Ron agreed as he gave his girlfriend a tight squeeze for good measure. Looking over his girlfriend's shoulder, he looked at his best friend and said, "Thanks KP. I knew you'd understand."

"Yeah, sure," Kim nodded solemnly. "You know I'm always there for you. Now if you don't mind, it's getting late and it's a school night."

"Right yeah, we better get going," Ron smiled at her. "Breakfast at your place, tomorrow?"

"Actually, I had plans..." Kim offered uncertainly.

"Aww... Never mind then," Ron replied, not quite able to hide the disappointment and mild hurt her refusal gave him. "Anyway, see you at school tomorrow then. Night, KP."

"Night, guys," Kim nodded, before she went into the house and shut the door, not waiting for them to leave.

"Hey, Bonnie," Ron turned to his girlfriend in his arms and asked. "What did you two talk about?"

"It's a secret," Bonnie coyly replied as she lifted Ron's chin with a finger and gently tickled him. "And I'm not telling..."

"Aww... No keeping secrets from your boyfriend," Ron whined.

"A girl is allowed to keep her secrets," Bonnie remarked with a smile.

"Really? No fair!" Ron replied playfully. "You gotta share..."

"Nah uh," Bonnie shook her head. "Anyway, could you say that again?"

"What?" Ron asked.

"The part about no keeping secrets..." Bonnie hinted bemusedly.

"No keeping secrets from your boyfriend?" Ron asked.

"My boyfriend," Bonnie nodded, looking quite pleased with herself and enjoying how nice those words sounded.

"Your boyfriend," Ron grinned as he finally got the meaning behind those words.

"My boyfriend," Bonnie repeated, as she gave him a good peck on the lips.

"My girlfriend," Ron replied with a half-dazed smile. "Yup, it feels good to say it."

"Hey, you can't say it to just _any_ girl!" Bonnie tried to sound serious, but it was hard to put on a straight face as she gazed at the goofy face of her boyfriend. "Only me," she insisted.

"Only you," Ron promised.

As the two young couple kissed again under the dim porch light, there was a slight sudden movement behind the curtains of the front window of the Possibles' house, before everything became dead still again.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

Woot yeah! Finally an update. Okay, I distinctly copped out. I did not write the Bonnie/Kim and Ron/Kim arguments in here. There are two reasons to that. First of all… I am lazy. Okay, that's not acceptable. But I sort of meant that there is a reason that Bonnie and Kim's conversation remains secret even to Ron. Which is why I sort of want the reader to be kept in the dark. And the other conversation, the Kim and Ron one, I let Bonnie overhear part of their conversation is because I kinda don't think anything important was said? I'd expect Kim to go all ballistic on Ron questioning his judgment, but he'll stick by Bonnie. So yeah, I could have written that, but that would be an additional 500 words, that well… Yeah, I'm just lazy.

But at least this is updated after four months, right?


	3. Chapter 3

It was a lazy Saturday afternoon, and Ron was sitting comfortably on the floor of Bonnie's living room, sipping a glass of soda in one hand, the cable TV remote in the other. Leaning with his back against the foot of the couch, he flipped through Bonnie's five-hundred different cable channels trying to settle for something that looked remotely interesting.

Bonnie was lying down on the couch and gently twirling her fingers through her boyfriend's blond mop of hair. It had that soft flaxen feel that just felt nice to run her fingers through, and she briefly entertained a naughty thought that she should put braids in its short length... Or tie it up in ribbons and make Ron wear it to school on Monday.

"Man, five-hundred channels, and all you get is home shopping channels?" Ron complained. "This tanks..."

"C'mon Ron," Bonnie replied with a smile. "Talk to me. Shouldn't you spend more time with me than with my TV?"

For a split second, Ron hesitated before playing the role of the good boyfriend and hitting the power button on the remote. Then leaning his head back until he rested against Bonnie's exposed midriff, he asked, "So what do we want to talk about?"

"Let's play a little game," Bonnie began playfully. "I'm going to ask you some questions, and for every question that you answer truthfully..." she purred coquettishly as she whispered. "I'm going to give you a kiss..." As a demonstration of her good faith, she puckered her lips and blew him a kiss as she smiled at the enraptured youth.

"Ah..." Ron stammered as his brain was wrapped in a mind-numbing fog of Bonnie-love. But during the past two weeks that they had been dating, he had built up the slightest of resistances to her charming ways. And while he had taken the first baby steps of navigating the seas of amore, thanks to Bonnie's constant flirting while they were together, he knew one of those steps involved having a witty reply ready at hand. Or at the very least, know how to carry on the conversation, even in a sea of pheromones. "Don't I get to ask any questions?"

"Maybe," Bonnie tempted him. "Only if I get good answers..."

"Oh, if you ask, then you will receive," Ron replied graciously.

"Nah uh," Bonnie wagged her finger. "I want truthful answers, but if I get good answers, I'll think about it..."

Ron whimpered slightly, knowing that he was at a very untenable moment, and if he had had a little more experience with Bonnie, he may have successfully offered to skip the questions and get straight to the kisses. However, good-naturedly, because it had been a slow afternoon, he decided to humor her. "Go ahead, Bonnie," Ron dared her.

"Right..." Bonnie grinned as she was seated firmly behind the wheel in this little game. "Who was your first crush?"

"I plead the Fifth," Ron remarked immediately.

"No you can't," Bonnie pouted. "That goes against the Boyfriend/Girlfriend Constitution of 1777."

"What Boyfriend/Girlfriend Constitution of 1777?" Ron asked.

"The one I just made up, so you have to answer my question," Bonnie replied.

"Do you really want to know?" Ron asked hesitantly.

"A girl wants to know who the competition is," Bonnie explained. "So who are you measuring me up against?"

"I don't really know if that is how I would put it..." Ron began slowly.

"C'mon, you got to tell me," Bonnie cajoled him.

"Fine..." Ron let out a little sigh. "If you want to know so badly... Shego."

"Shego?" Bonnie exploded in splutter. "You mean that freaky lady with the freakishly green skin that Kim fights with and could break you apart with her freakishly glowing hands?"

"Hey, hey," Ron replied sounding hurt. "You make it sound like I am a freak for having a crush on her..."

"No..." Bonnie began. "But you do admit, you have a weird taste... You have a crush on Shego, you go freak-fighting every other day, you have a weird pet..."

"And I've also got a weird girlfriend..." Ron interjected with a grin.

"Hey!" Bonnie remarked.

"Just to complete my weird collection," Ron reassured her with a smile as he gave the back of her hand a little kiss. "Besides... I like weird."

"And just what is so weird about me?" Bonnie eyed her boyfriend dangerously.

"Oh, for starters, the whole Cuddlebuddy thing?" Ron waggled his eyebrows. "The only time I have seen a bigger collection was when this lady tried to genetically modify real animals to create real life Cuddlebuddies. You, my dear Bonnie, are the biggest closet Cuddlebuddy fan in the whole wide world."

"You have your hobbies, I have mine," Bonnie replied sounding miffed.

"But you know what?" Ron went on regardless. "I think that it's cool. Weird but cool... Because it makes you more of a person than just some cheerleader strutting down the halls showing off her stuff. It makes you a lot more unique and a lot more genuine. Plus I really think it is adorable how you try to hide it like you're ashamed of it, but you couldn't bear to part with your Cuddlebuddies either."

"Nice save there, Ron," Bonnie couldn't help but smile as she ruffled his blond hair. "Anyway... Shego?"

"Right, right," Ron replied with a smile. "I know, it's wrong, she's a supervillain and everything, but I think that's what makes her a lot more attractive to young teenage boys, you know? The fact that she is completely, completely so far out of my league that it could only be a fantasy."

"So if Shego asked you out on a date, you would go for it?" Bonnie asked.

"I'm not stupid..." Ron replied as he rolled his eyes. "I may have a crush on her but I'm not suicidal. A date with Shego probably means going toe-to-toe with her in a pit fight. Man, dating a beautiful woman like that sure has its hazards."

"What about me?" Bonnie asked coyly. "Don't you think I'm also beautiful and dangerous too?"

"Uh huh," Ron nodded, as he bit his lip, wondering whether he had just offered too much information.

"So why'd you agree to go out with me?"

"You remember when asked me out, you got me in that janitor's closet and up against the wall?" Ron asked softly. "It was hard to say no when you're in that position... Yeah, dating you definitely has its risks. Like whether you were just setting me up for some prank. Or maybe you were just using me. Like I could ever believe you could ever be interested in me?"

"Why not?" Bonnie replied sounding unconvinced with her own words.

"Do you remember when the only time you were ever interested in me?" Ron asked sadly. "Yeah, that was when I had ninety-nine million dollars to my name... So when you asked me out, even though you said you were doing it for Tara, during the date, somewhere on the back of my mind, I was wondering whether I would wake up in a bathtub half-filled with ice and missing both my kidneys."

"Oh..." was the only word that could escape her lips. "Ron, I'm sorry I ever hurt you like that..."

"Nah, it's in the past now..." Ron shook his head. "Besides, I won't hold it against you."

"If you were that scared, why'd you say yes in the first place?" Bonnie asked.

"Maybe because I'm stupid," Ron replied. "Maybe because I just wanted to believe that a girl like you would ever consider me worthy dating material..."

"You know what?" Bonnie sat up and scooted off the sofa and settled in next to Ron. She threw her arms around his neck and pressed her forehead against his as she spoke softly, "I'm so glad you had the courage to say yes." With those words, she pressed her lips against his to let him know how she felt.

"Yeah, I'm glad too," Ron replied softly as they broke apart. He pulled Bonnie a little closer to him, just enjoying the warmth of her sitting contentedly next to him. "Hey Bonnie, can I ask a question?" Ron asked. "What happened between you and Brick?"

"It's best if you don't know," Bonnie replied stiffly, as she tried to pull away a little.

"Bonnie," the serious tone in Ron's voice startled her a little. "When you told me that something bad happened, and if Tara hadn't been there in time, I realized that you didn't have people you can talk to. I did spend a few worried nights wondering what you meant back then."

"It was something stupid and it's in the past," Bonnie sighed tiredly. "I don't want to talk about it because I know it won't happen again."

"Then it's okay if you tell me," Ron continued to ask. "Bonnie, please?"

"It's not something I'm proud of," Bonnie replied. "And I don't want you to think of me that way..."

"I won't, Bonnie," Ron replied. "But I want you to tell me, because I want you to know that I'll be there for you if something like that ever did happen again."

"Ron..." Bonnie twisted away but he wouldn't let her out of his arms. "Look, I think we'd better go, my sisters will be back..."

"Not until you tell me what happened..." Ron replied, sounding a little harder, startling Bonnie.

"Ron? Please, no?" Bonnie begged, as she stiffened in his arms. "They'll be back soon."

"Then you better tell me quickly," Ron replied. "Bonnie, please let me into your life. So far, as your boyfriend, I've only asked that we tell Kim about us and for this. Please, it's important to me, because you're important to me."

"I don't see why you want me to make a fool out of myself so badly," Bonnie snapped out a bit more harshly than she'd intended. "Twenty pills okay? It was twenty pills of Sominex, ten times the recommended dose. All chased with a half pint of JD!" She covered her face with her hands. "Dumbest thing I've ever done, dumbest, dumbest..." She began to hit the side of her head with her fist.

"Bonnie, stop it..." Ron said angrily as he gripped her wrist to restrain her. "Stop it..." Looking at her tears running down the side of her face, he gently brushed them away. "Look, it's not... I..." his heart sank as he struggled to find the words. "Nobody calls my girlfriend dumb, okay?" he tried to lighten the situation. "Because if you're dumb, what does that make me?"

Bonnie showed no signs of responding, as she continued to weep silently. Rocking herself back and forth, she mumbled to no one in particular, "Half an hour on the bathroom floor, and Tara came back to get something she forgot here... She found me and called the ambulance." Bonnie screwed her eyes shut and grimaced, spitting her next words harshly.

"How did you get the sleeping pills and hard stuff?" Ron asked quietly, as he watched her with eyes brimming with concern.

"The pills are mine…" Bonnie admitted nervously. "I can't sleep sometimes, between cheerleading, ballet and schoolwork… It's my way of getting eight hours of sleep a night. As for the JD? I had half a pint left over after one of my parties that Kim doesn't get invited to. Funny thing about it? I hate whiskey… I'm more of a brandy and gin girl…"

"That's just not right…" Ron replied, as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. With a wry smile on his face, Ron tried to joke, "Well if there's one thing that I could help you with, it's all about loosening up and sleeping more. You gotta get rid of those pills…"

Ignoring his words, Bonnie gazed intently at the back of her hands, and muttered to herself, "I don't know what I was thinking… I just didn't care… When I thought I could at least count on Brick to be there… He's a guy after all… But if Connie has all the brains, and Lonnie has all the beauty, and I can't even hold on to a guy like Brick, what does that say about me?"

"Shh..." Ron hushed her as he held her close by. "I know Brick dumped you, but you know what? You found something better. Now, I may not be an expert on Brick, but I definitely am the better catch, if I do say so myself. At least I can form proper sentences. And I don't slap guys' bottoms in locker rooms. And I do have a better GPA than Brick, although that's not saying much. And at the right angles, if you do look at me, I must admit I am quite the looker. And I can coo-..."

"It doesn't matter," Bonnie remarked quietly. "I appreciate that you're trying to cheer me up but..."

"Hey now," Ron asked. "Who do you prefer to hang out with? Brick or me?"

Bonnie mumbled something incoherently, a slightly red tint creeping up her face.

"Could you say that a little louder?" Ron asked, smirking slightly.

"You," came the whisper a little clearer.

"Ah-boo-yah..." Ron cheered in a teeny whisper. "Then you have nothing to cry about..."

"I feel stupid..." Bonnie remarked.

"Welcome to my world," Ron joked, causing Bonnie to cock her head slightly at him. "But, Bonnie... Honestly, you're far more beautiful and lot smarter than either of your sisters."

"You're just saying..."

"Seriously, Bonnie," Ron cut her short. "Don't ever let anyone tell you that you're not smart or beautiful anymore... Because if anything, I'm proof of that."

"Huh?"

"You're beautiful enough to make someone like me fall in love with you, despite our past differences, and you're smart enough to give me a chance _to_ fall for you!" Ron replied with a smile. "You got me, and I'm going to do my best to make you the happiest girl in all of Middleton."

"Sweet talker..." Bonnie couldn't help but let a small smile spread with her now deep crimson blush. "Why Middleton and not the world?"

"I figured that I'd save the best for last," Ron replied. "Besides, no pressure that way, right?"

"Fine, Ron," Bonnie replied as she kissed him. "Now tell me how are you going to make me the happiest girl in Middleton?"

"Oh, I don't know..." Ron began as he settled back against the foot of the couch. "I figured I'd start with coming over early and making you breakfast in bed... I'd be sure to carry it by your sisters' rooms just so they know that you got this wonderful guy treating you like his princess... Then while you eat, I might just sing you a song... A song I just wrote the night before just for you..."

Bonnie was caught up in picturing his sweet little ramblings, that she did not realized that a car had pulled up in her driveway. Bonnie whipped her head towards the door, startled by the sudden jangle of keys in the lock. Before she could react and stuff Ron under the couch, her two sisters walked in, slinging large shopping bags on each hand.

"Oh my, what do we have here?" Connie fake-gasped, as she drew off her sunglasses. "Does little Bonnie have a boy over? God, what a silly-looking boy she has..."

"Oh dear," Lonnie sighed sadly. "Look at what has become of our dear little sister, it's just _so_ pitiful." After a brief moment of faux sympathy, Lonnie grinned devilishly at Bonnie and Ron, "But I guess this is the best she could hope for, seeing that I got all the beauty..."

"And I got all the brains..." Connie joined in her sister's laughter, much to Bonnie's chagrin.

"Oh, hi, Connie, Lonnie," Ron replied cheerfully, ignoring their blistering comments as he got to his feet. "Hey... Since you got all the brains, and you got all the beauty, I guess between the both of you, you might just count as one person!"

"Oh god," Lonnie gasped, as she waved her hand. "It speaks..."

"Bonnie dear, please," Connie spoke condescendingly to her younger sister. "Would you mind, since it's your job to take out the trash, could you please keep that repulsive thing out of the house? Mother doesn't like it when you bring home strays. Especially strays that don't know how to bite their tongue when they're not being spoken to..."

"Oh, now I get it," Ron exclaimed aloud as he smacked his fist on his hand. "So that's why you two have been seeing the same guy! Brad, was it? Because _you _have all the beauty, and _you_ have all the brains..."

"What are you talking about? Bonnie, dear, what is he talking about?" Connie spoke sharply to her little sister, who seemed equally confused.

"Oh, you could ask Lonnie who she was seeing at the Prima Ristorante in Denver early yesterday evening," Ron remarked smugly, his smirk broadening as he watched Lonnie's face turn three shades paler. "I believe Lonnie had the seared tuna with black olive polenta cake, spinach, and spicy Sicilian tomato ragu, while Mr. Slocolm-Browne had the short rib ravioli?"

Ron paused a moment and glanced between Bonnie's two older sisters. Connie's angry glare and Lonnie's open mouth stare was all the confirmation to Ron that he was correct, so he continued with his delivery in an almost friendly, conversational manner, his smirk still plastered on his face. "And I believe a little under-the-table footsie was in order? But I'd bet the footsie was _nothing_ compared to what I'm 

sure happened at the Hotel Teatro after dinner... The Amore Package? Pretty posh for the average guy, but then again, when you're dating the woman with all the beauty, cost is no object, huh? But I'm sure he'll give Connie the same treatment next time he's out with her..."

"Why you..." Connie raised her voice as she turned to bear her full wrath on her equally-shocked sister.

"Tata," Ron bade his farewell with a flourish, pulling Bonnie out of the house after him. "Give Brad my regards!" He quickly shut the front door, the sound of the heavy wood slamming into its frame drown out by the loud crash of something large, fragile and expensive being flung against the wall. Wrapping an arm around Bonnie, he smiled at her and asked, "Shall we head over to my place?"

"How... How did you know?" Bonnie could only look at him in startled surprise, as she had only regained her voice.

"You didn't think I was going to face your sisters without something up my sleeve, did you?" Ron grinned mischievously. "Though Wade did all the hard work, I need to give him a big thank you for hacking into those security cameras and the bit of snooping he did at the hotel when they went there... It's a wonder what's not caught on security cameras these days."

"So... Connie... Lonnie... Same guy?" Bonnie gaped.

"Uh huh," Ron nodded with a smile.

"Ron," Bonnie threw her arms around his waist and gave him the tightest hug she had to date. "I have never been so proud to call you my boyfriend."

"So ready to head to my place?" Ron asked.

"I've got a better idea..." Bonnie smiled. "Let's go catch a movie at the mall."

"Whu-...?" Ron's jaw fell open. "But... But... That's like... Everyone... It's a Saturday afternoon! Everyone's at the mall! Everyone we know and plenty of people we don't!"

"I know..." Bonnie replied with a knowing smile. "So? I just want to show everyone what a wonderful boyfriend you are..."

"But... But... Your reputation..." Ron exclaimed, still trying his best to string words together to form a coherent sentence. "Are... Are you sure?"

"Ron, just from the way you put my sisters in their place, I have never been happier to call you my boyfriend," Bonnie replied. "You've been so great that I'm ashamed that I used to think that you might embarrass me..."

"Aww..." Ron couldn't help smiling. "It's all for you..."

"Right..." Bonnie said playfully. "Stop that. If you get any sweeter, I might just have to hide you to keep you all to myself."

"Haha..." Ron grinned. "You don't have to get so jealous... I'm all yours."

"Sure..." Bonnie tugged at his arm, as she drew out her car keys and pressed the remote. "Let's go now so we can still catch a matinee..."

* * *

Kim was doing her homework on the kitchen countertop when her complex calculus problems were put on hold by the ringing of the phone. With a sigh, she dropped her pencil in frustration over the advanced math and grabbed kitchen phone from its cradle by the refrigerator.

"Hello?" she answered. A sudden flood of high-pitched questions flooded through the earpiece without pause, and Kim was forced to pull the receiver away in surprise for a moment. "Calm down, Monique!" she finally managed to slip in a commanding word. "Take a deep breath then spill."

"OMG GF, you..." the rest of the words were so garbled that Kim could hardly make them out.

"'Nique!" Kim had to raise her voice. "What is it?"

"Girl! You have got to be here to believe this!" Monique's breath finally managed to catch up with her. "Guess who I just saw at the Middleton Mall?"

"Err..." Kim wracked her brains for a guess, but before she could open her mouth, Monique had already started answering.

"Ron and Bonnie!" Monique squealed in excitement. "Oh god, GF, I mean, I thought I was seeing things when I saw Bonnie at the mall holding hands with some guy I thought was her new boyfriend. At first I thought she was just parading around the latest hottie she had snagged, and when he turned around, I swear, it was like... Wow... She was with _your _Ron! _Your_ Ron, Kim! This has got to be a dream! But yeah! Ron and Bonnie are officially dating! Girl, I seriously swear I didn't see that coming, woah, can your boy blindside you! Kim? Kim? You still there?"

"Uh huh?" Kim replied slowly, her tone making it obvious she thought there was nothing wrong.

"Girl, there's got to be something wrong with you," Monique sounded cross as she picked up on Kim's clear lack of shock and enthusiasm for the latest gossip. "You don't sound surprise one bit. In fact, you don't sound surprised at all..." Kim heard a sharp gasp on the other end of the line as Monique put the obvious together, the dark skinned girl's voice sounding both taken aback and irate at one time, "That means you must have known! Ron's your best friend, so definitely you must have known! How long?" Monique demanded loudly.

"Just last week," Kim admitted quietly. "When they started going out."

Monique's voice literally exploded in her ear. "Girl, I can't believe you didn't tell me! Kim, have we been best friends, or have we been best friends? You're supposed to tell me things like this!"

"I guess, 'Nique..." Kim replied distantly. "But you know Ron... He wanted to keep this quiet..."

"But you know me!" Monique replied quickly. "I could keep a secret!"

"Yeah, anyway, it just slipped my mind," Kim shrugged her off. "I've been busy for the past few days..."

"Girl, you have got to get your head checked..." Monique replied. "I'm not buying that one bit. Your best friend since pre-K hooks up with your biggest rival in Middleton High, and all you can say is it slipped your mind? You okay there?"

"I'm fine," Kim replied. "I guess I'm just... It's Ron's life... And he's free to date whoever he wants to. And as his best friend, I should be supportive of him and his relationships."

"Huh," Monique snorted with disbelief. "That's a quick one-eighty."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Kim, Kim, _Kim_!" Monique revealed. "Do you know what's the three things that the average Middleton High student wishes for? One, for Mr. Barkin to stop being a substitute teacher, two, for Mystery Meat to be banned from the library, and, most importantly three, for Kim and Ron to stop dancing around each other and finally have the guts to make kissy-face in the hallways."

"What? You have got to be kidding!" Kim cried out, glad that Monique was only on the phone. She would have hated for Monique to see her blushing like she was, not to mention the outraged, shocked expression she knew was now on her face. "Not everyone is so interested in other people's private lives, you know..."

"Exactly!" Monique exclaimed triumphantly. "But the sheer virtue of your lives being so interesting to the average person should clue you in about people being so interested in you! I bet half of the school expected you to hook up at least by the end of junior year!"

"Monique!" Kim squeaked in protest. "Ron and I are just friends. Best friends, granted, but _nothing more_. We are free to see other people. Remember Josh? Or Zita?"

"So not buying it," Monique replied. "Just so you know, I was rooting for you two, too."

"Really?" Kim asked, trying to keep her voice level but failing.

"Yeah!" Monique sounded sure of herself. "The way you two stick together through everything? That pretty much says it all. I'm not sure even my parents would do that. I was just waiting for one of you to start realizing how much you mean to each other and have the courage to take the right step. I honestly can't believe you let him get away..."

"Ron and I are just friends..." Kim protested again, her tone exasperated, "And you do realize that any relationship between Ron and I would be awkweird with a capital _weird_, right?"

"Sure, Kim..."Monique replied, the tone of her voice indicating the eye roll she was likely giving on her end of phone line. "Just keep telling yourself that, maybe you'd believe it someday. Need I remind you of the incident surrounding a young, lithe and nubile ninja with a dash of Oriental exoticness? Girl, you might have gotten better at hiding your jealousy these days, but you sure stink at lying."

"Am not..." Kim protested weakly. "Monique, it doesn't matter, anyway... I'm happy for Ron, even Bonnie, really... Ron's still my best friend, alright?"

"But I guess it's okay if you're so sure that you two would stay friends..." Monique replied uncertainly.

"What do you mean?" Kim asked suspiciously, her worries about Bonnie using Ron coming back with a vengeance, along with some sudden, somewhat unwelcome thoughts about her best friend and world saving sidekick.

"Well..." Monique hesitated a little with a cough. "He's shaped up quite a bit... At least he combs his hair and wears a button-down shirt more often. Definitely progress in the fashion department due to Bonnie's influence. And..."

"And?" Kim probed after Monique's voice died down.

"And... He seems really happy," Monique replied uncomfortably. "He's more confident around her and everyone else, and he smiles a lot more. I can't say that Bonnie's bad for him at all... Even though she is Bonnie..." Monique paused again for several seconds before letting next thoughts out in a grudging tone, "And I can't say that he's bad for her either... She's toned down quite a bit of her Queen B self... And to walk around in public with Ron, the very same guy she's verbally beat up almost every day in school... She must have needed a ladder to get off that very high horse of hers..."

"Good for them," Kim replied vacantly. "Hey, it's all good, and I'm really happy for Ron here. So it's all no big. By the way, Monique, can you do me a favor?"

"Sure, girlfriend," Monique nodded. "What is it?"

"Just make sure the rumors about them aren't too wild... They deserve a chance at this," Kim replied, her tone far more convincing than it had just a moment before.

"Hey, you know me, Kim," Monique replied with a smile. "Ron's my friend too and I'll do my best for him! You didn't even need to ask. But you know what, girl? You're just way too nice for your own damned good."

"Err... Anyway, thanks Monique," Kim replied uneasily, not wanting to hear any more of Monique's thoughts about having let Ron get away. "I better be getting back to my homework, you never know when a mission might show."

"Sure thing, Kim," Monique said. "CYL, BFF!"

"Gah..." Kim muttered as she hung up the phone. "Ron's just my friend, Monique..." Kim turned away and returned to the kitchen countertop, sliding back onto the stool and grabbing her pencil. Her normally neat handwriting started to dwindle into scribbles, and the letters that formed the words started to jump around. She clutched her temples as she sought to figure out the answers to the questions in her head, none relating to calculus at all. But no clear answer, nothing that could possibly bring her any relief was easily forthcoming.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

Woot! Two posts in two days! I'm on fire!

Couple things that crossed my mind. First of all, this is heck of a waff-y chapter, and I need to visit my dentist. Really, I haven't been to see him in over a year so I need to go anyway. First of all the Girlfriend/Boyfriend Constitution of 1777 is an important bit of treaty that dictates the behavior of parties in a relationship. Sadly it only contains one line of "The girlfriend is always right."

While this chapter seems a bit sugary, there are a couple of important things, namely a little of Bonnie's past, and dealing with Bonnie's sisters, plus Bonnie's big decision to come out and show off her latest boyfriend. I'm thinking it might seem a little impulsive, but I bet it's been on Bonnie's mind. She might have been hesitant at first, but I think after Ron demonstrated a clear capability of handling his own against her sisters, she's more than confident that Ron couldn't possibly humiliate her. But we also see Ron deferring a lot of things to her, like the decision to go to the mall, or stuffs. He's just assertive when it comes to things like Bonnie and her suicide attempt.

So yeah, I guess it's mostly Kim's reaction that I want to dwell on. She's almost… She's rather disjointed and disconnected of late. And from the way she talks to Monique about it, she probably shoved the whole Ron/Bon thing to the back of her mind and tried not to think about it. But Monique somehow has accidentally forced her to think about it, and hence she's kinda going through the first stage: denial. But now that Bonnie and Ron are out in the open, I guess it'll be interesting to see everyone else's reaction.


	4. Chapter 4

"Oh my god, Tara! What's the ish?" Marcella, one of Tara's squad mates demanded in a near whine as she marched towards the blonde, her tone screaming of gossip-in-the-making.

"What?" Tara looked up in surprise, her expression quickly falling into annoyance at the prospect of being mobbed and grilled for questions barely five seconds into a Monday morning. She sighed and turned to find herself flanked by three of her fellow cheer squad members. To Marcella's left was one of the other blondes on the cheer squad, Jessica, and to her right was Hope, the Asian member of the squad who almost everyone, according to both herself and Marcella, mistook as the Hispanic girl's sister.

"You must have known!" Hope squealed in excitement. "I mean, you're like her best friend and, y'know, she should have told you and you had to, well, at least, _should have_ known…"

"Hope!" Jessica clamped a hand over the excitable Asian, who was almost jumping out of her pink skirt. "Hush! Now, Tara," she commanded in a low tone. "Spill!"

"Guys?" Tara looked at them in puzzlement as she glanced around and noticed more than half a dozen people casting sideway glances at them and pretending not to eavesdrop. She sighed and pushed past them and walked towards her locker to grab her books for the first period. "I don't know what you guys are talking about…"

"Oh, c'mon, Tara!" Marcella interrupted her. "We're friends! You don't keep gossip this big from friends! So tell us already: what's the ish?"

"Ish?" Tara raised a questioning eyebrow.

"The ish with Bonnie and Ron!" Hope squealed out loud enough for a good two dozen pair of eyes to focus on them as everyone else seemed to freeze in surprise. Tara merely sighed in response as she opened her locker, settling her homework down and digging out her first period class books.

"What about them?" Tara asked uneasily as she dug through her locker.

"Oh please," Marcella scoffed. "Jessica saw them holding hands at the mall yesterday and making out in the parking lot…"

"Yeah!" Jessica piped in. "So spill! How did Bonnie end up with that loser? Did she lose a bet or something?"

Tara slammed her locker door shut with enough force to make the three other cheerleaders jump in surprise. "She did _not_ lose a bet," Tara growled angrily in defense of her best friend. "And Ron is _not_ a loser! Are we clear?"

"Crystal," Hope gulped as she shirked away a little from Tara's violent outburst.

"But that's what Bonnie calls him too…" Jessica pointed out defiantly.

"Look," Tara griped, fixing them with a steely gaze. "I encouraged Ron to ask her out. The _ish_ is that Bonnie heard from _someone_," she fixed a piercing glare on Marcella, her calm tone belying her still simmering ire at the Hispanic girl, "That Josh and I broke up, and she tried to set me up with Ron because she thought I still had a crush on him. But I had to turn him down because Josh and I were only having an argument… So I got Ron to ask her out instead, and personally? I think he's great for her!"

"Oh c'mon, he's at the bottom of the food chain!" Marcella pointed out. "He's lower than low! He's…"

"He's good for her!" Tara raised her voice defensively. "What, don't you think he's a sweet guy?"

The incredulous looks on not only her squadmate's faces, but about half the nearly two dozen that now surrounded them said it all. "But he's a loser," the cheerleaders muttered, and the skeptical faces in the crowd seemed to echo this comment in unison.

"Do you know where he took Bonnie for their first date?" Tara asked smugly.

"Where?" Hope squeaked, not sure how to react to the tone in Tara's voice, one she could not remember ever hearing from the bubbly blonde.

"Daniel's," Tara announced triumphantly. "Ever even stepped inside that place before?"

Their jaws dropped lower than the lowest rung of the food chain, and there were doubtful scoffs from the crowd surrounding them. Marcella was the first one who regained her composure, but she could only stammer, "You're… You're ly-… Bullthit! There's _no_ way someone like Stoppable could…"

"He's a close personal friend of the chef," Tara smirked. "And he turned down an offer to work there this summer."

"Wow…" Hope ooh-ed in rapt fascination.

"You expect us to believe that?" Marcella burst out incredulously, "Stoppable a friend of the chef? Whatever, we have as much if not more money than the Rockwallers, and my dad had to make reservations two weeks in advance for his and mom's anniversary! And he had connections that I _know_ Stoppable doesn't have!"

"Well, he is, and they had a date there, M," Tara replied in a cool, confident tone that bordered on snide, which started to set off alarm bells in the very back of Marcella's mind.

The Hispanic girl ignored the nagging wrongness she felt and scoffed at Tara's snide tone, "So, what...Next you'd be telling us that they flew to Paris for their second date!"

"No, they went to a little Greek restaurant in Upperton for that one," Tara smiled sweetly. "Besides, have you seen Bonnie at all last week? She was smiling a lot more. She was nicer to people. She paid attention in class and she actually joined us for lunch at the cheerleading table! She hasn't been angry anymore. I don't care what you think of Ron, but I think he's good for her, and I won't stand around if you guys bad mouth the both of them, 'kay?"

"I… I…" Jessica stammered. She whistled softly, "Wow, who knew, huh? That Stoppable was a diamond in the rough."

"Do you suppose he has an older brother?" Hope asked timidly, blushing bright red when three pairs of eyes suddenly swiveled to gaze at her in surprise. "What?" she huffed, "I'm just wondering!"

"I call bullshit!" Marcella announced bluntly. "It's got to be a trick… There's no way Bonnie would go out with Ron willingly! Who knows? You know that crowd that loser runs with? Running around the world on Kim's coattails while she's fighting bad guys? Maybe he picked up some mind control device from somewhere and…"

"If you don't believe me, talk to Bonnie yourself," Tara sighed tiredly. "Look, we should be happy for them. Bonnie's still our friend and I think Ron's a hundred times better for her than Brick ever was as dating material. I mean, Brick's sweet when he's not going all über-jock on everyone, but their personalities never clicked… Ron and Bonnie? It just works…"

"I don't care how well they work as a couple!" Marcella screeched, "Doesn't she know what will happen if she starts dating someone on the bottom of the food chain? Now all those geeks and nerds and losers will probably think that they stand a chance with us… They'll start thinking they can ask us out and…"

"So?" Tara retorted. "Maybe one of them would be better than that two-inch boyfriend of yours!"

Jessica and Hope tried their best to stifle their giggles as Tara held up a pinky finger to emphasize her point, and a deep, crimson red blush quickly spread across the Hispanic girl's face. Marcella sputtered in protest, her tone scandalized, "You were supposed to keep _that_ a secret! Nick would _kill_ me if he found out..."

"Oh for Christ's sake, just dump him already!" Tara replied in frustration. "It's not like you like him anyway, he's just another guy on top of the food chain. Just because someone else calls people like Ron a loser doesn't mean that he's a loser," Tara chided the other girl.

"Well, he's better than Ron…" Marcella muttered to herself.

"How?" Tara challenged. "Does he save the world routinely? Does he take you out to fancy restaurants and treat you like a lady? Does he do things for you like Ron did when he stood up to her sisters? Or does he just expect you to put out whenever he wants you to? Marcy, for someone with a pretty shitty boyfriend, you don't have much room to talk about Ron like…"

"I know you have a crush on that guy!" Marcella shot back quickly, her face still burning red. Tara's words had hit a little too close to home for comfort. In a sneering voice, she tried to turn the tables back on the blonde, "You're just standing up for Bonnie because her dating Ron makes you look good! It's like Bonnie's affirming your bad taste in _losers_ and helped you redeem yourself from crushing on that stupid loser in the first place. So don't act high and mighty on us…"

"M…" Hope tugged at her sleeve in worry at the tirade. "C'mon, that's a bit muc-…"

"Marcella," Tara grated, before taking a deep breath, pausing a moment to clear her mind of her emotions. She narrowed her eyes even as she calmed her self, fixing Marcella with an indignant gaze, "Watch what you're saying. I was only repeating everything that you've told us about Nick."

"Whatever," Marcella quipped, waving a hand almost dismissively at Tara. "You're just denying the obvious…"

Tara smiled suddenly, a brief predatory grin lighting her face as a realization struck her. She quickly smothered the look, subtly setting off alarm bells in the backs of more than just Marcella's mind. After all, Tara was the ditz of the cheer squad, matched only by Hope, and to suddenly see the blonde so seemingly out of character was startling, to say the least. "Denying the obvious? Hardly, I have Josh, andhe's awesome… But it seems obvious to me that you're _jealous_… Jealous that Bonnie can shrug off the whole Food Chain bullshit and find a great guy like Ron. Now if you'll just drag your head out of your ass…"

"Oh puh-leaze!" Marcella scoffed, crossing her arms tightly. With a haughty voice, she continued, "Face it you're still crushing on that loser. Once a loser, _always_ a loser."

"Oh yeah?" Tara asked, her voice soft but clearly irritated. "And what if Ron was a new kid, and just walked into the hallway? Maybe wearing a pair of tight slacks and a nice button-up shirt? You don't know anything about him and no one has labeled him a loser yet. I bet you a hundred dollars easy that you'd think he's cute."

"Yeah right!" Marcella scoffed. "Gimmee a break, he's scrawny, he's got no taste, and he's got a goddamn goofball's cowlick for a hair style, T!"

"Maybe you were sick the time he came in with the new hairstyle…" Tara mused, thinking back… "I mean, even that stuck up bitch Amelia was all over him…"

"Oh, yeah!" Hope chimed in, "He was cute then…" She stopped and let out a small squeak as Marcella fixed a hard glare at her.

"Exactly, Hope!" Tara enthused, "M, what I'm saying if he was new and was dressed a little differently…" she said quietly as she eyed something behind the three of them, raising an eyebrow.

Marcella, Jessica and Hope instantly spun around to see what Tara was looking at. It was as if time had slowed to a stop and the crowd of students parted as a nervous-looking blond boy walked down the hallway.

"Omigod," Hope wheezed quickly, her eyes wide in shock, "Is he a new stude-…?"

"Maybe…" Marcella cut Hope off as she shook her head with a smirk of her own. Flashing a predatory grin, she remarked, "I think I better go introduce myself, after all Bonnie doesn't get first dibs anymore since she's already got her _loser_…"

"Really?" Tara remarked dryly, drawing Jessica's eyes back to Tara's cool, seeming dismissal of Marcella's comment.

"Is that…?" Jessica asked hesitantly, looking between Tara, Marcella and Hope, "Guess not? But… I didn't know we had a new transfer student." Jessica asked hesitantly, but before Tara could answer, a near squeal from Hope cut off any comments between the two blonde girls.

"Whoever he is, he's _hawt_!" Hope gasped, over accentuating the word for obvious dramatic effect.

"You said it girl," Jessica whistled softly in agreement. She found that she, like hope and several girls in the crowd, was unable to peel her eyes off the young blond man walking nervously towards them.

The blond teen's hair was neatly combed, but instead of being parted and drawn across his scalp in a traditional fashion, his hair mostly hung down straight, except across his forehead. There, his bangs and the front side of his hair hung loosely, sweeping from about the level of his soft brown eyes on the left to just above his eyebrow on the right side.

While the look of the blond teen's hair was vaguely emo, his clothing screamed that was anything but the case. He wore a well fitted pair of dark gray slacks and a form fitting V-neck sweater. The shirt and slacks seemed loose fitting, but managed to show off a lean, well-toned body underneath. His shoes were a pair of dark gray and black hikers that, strangely, worked with the rest of his clothing.

"Hmmm," Marcella looked at Tara down the bridge of her nose. "Not bad… Not bad at _all_!" Twisting away on her heels, she sauntered over to the apparent new arrival, showing an enticing amount of leg, but keeping it subtle at the same time. With a voice at once low and seductive voice yet coy, she purred to the blond as she leaned almost into him, "Hey there, handsome… Want someone to show you around here?"

"Ah…" the blond's face instantly blossomed into a bright red as he fidgeted in his shoes. Looking helplessly at the girl leaning against him, he nervously replied, "Hey, Marcella… Yeah, I was just…"

Marcella smirked darkly as he said her name. _That was so sweet! _She thought to herself. _He already knows my name! That means that he's asked someone about me, even before I had introduced myself to him! This one is in the bag! _Marcella gently leaned her head on his shoulder, feeling the strong taut muscles in his arm. _So strong… And buff!_ She, unconsciously, ran her tongue along her lips and slipped an arm around his, murmuring quietly to him, "Hey, no need to be so embarrassed!" Her quiet protest at his blushing demeanor had her convinced she had found a man everyone would agree was higher up the food chain than Nick.

Her happy thoughts were disrupted by a small gnawing realization that she tried to dismiss. _Didn't his voice sound vaguely familiar? And hadn't his voice sounded a little familiar? _She pulled her head away from his shoulder and scrutinized his apparent good looks a little closer. _Cute freckles…_

Suddenly, the blond caught sight of Tara, Jessica and Hope, and his eyes quickly lit up. "Hey there, Tara!" he called out, quickly wriggling his arm artfully from Marcella's grip, much to her annoyance. He quickly bounded over, without taking another glance at her. With a nod, he greeted the other two cheerleaders, "Jessica, Hope. Um, so have you guys seen, Bonnie?" he asked nervously, his blush intensifying at the question.

Ignoring the two dumbstruck girls, Tara smiled a little and patted the blond on the shoulder. "She's over by the cafeteria waiting for you."

"Right, thanks…" the blond replied with a goofy grin and swept his hair back with his right hand. "Catch you guys later then."

"Later," Tara nodded her head and turned back to look at the two dumbstruck girls smugly.

"I am in love," Hope sighed blissfully as she stared off at the space where the blond was standing.

"Is tha-…" Before Jessica could finish her question, Marcella suddenly stomped up to them and demanded in a screeching voice.

"What the hell?" Marcella ranted, not caring that she might have to go for detention for cursing. "He just blew me off! I mean, completely! He just blew off Marcella Sanchez! Who the hell does he think he is?"

"Ron Stoppable," Tara replied, barely stifling a giggle.

"Yeah, he's almost as bad as Ron Stoppable!" Marcella quickly harshed on one of the food chain's favorite punching bags. "If he didn't have those good looks, he'd be sleeping in the gutter with Ron Stoppable right now. I swear, I'm going to make his life a living… Girls, what? Is there something on my face?"

Marcella looked suspiciously at a grinning Tara. "You still don't realize who that was, do you?" Tara smirked as she looked over at Jessica and Hope.

"What, the new student?" Marcella asked. "He's new…"

"M," Hope whined in a low voice. "That was Ron! And he's smoking _hawt_!"

"Ron?" Marcella let out a surprised outburst. "No way, there was no wa-…" Looking at the serious faces of her cheer compatriots, she finally realized why those freckles and that voice were so familiar…

"Ron Stoppable?" Marcella screeched in panic, as she looked down the corridor, hoping to catch a second glimpse of the blond again. Turning back to face the three, she asked in a panicked voice. "You mean to tell me that I hit on Ron Stoppable?"

Again the three silently nodded. Tara was sporting a proud grin, while Jessica looked a little ashamed of herself, and Hope stared off aimlessly into the distance with a lovestruck look on her face.

"Did I hear right?" A male voice suddenly spoke up from behind Marcella. "Did you just say you hit on _Stops_?"

"Huh?" Marcella spun around and suddenly came to face with her beau, Nick. "Oh Nick!" Marcella suddenly blabbed, trying to retract her statement. "No, no… I didn't throw myself at Ron Stoppable… I just… Flirted, since he's got that new look… Y'know, just trying to get him to screw up so I could throw it in B's face! Yeah, besides… He didn't look like Ron and you always said if someone better comes alon-…"

"Just shut up," Nick shook his head with a mixture of disgust and annoyance. "I saw the whole goddamn thing, Marcy! You were slutting yourself out to Stops pretty damn hard, and here I thought we weregoing steady? Besides, I only said that to stop your nagging, and took it back the same day, but y'know what, Marcy? We're through."

"What?" Marcella suddenly cringed at his words. "What do you mean 'We're through.'?" Nick turned and shook his head, laughing slightly even though he was obviously disgusted. Marcella started to walk after him, her anger flaring and drawing the Hispanic accent she normally kept in check out in full force. "Hey, Nick? Hey! You take that back _pendejo_, before you regret it!"

With a wave and shrug, Nick walked back into the crowd of students, away from Marcella, whose voice and the number of insults rose with each step. "Don't walk away from me, _puto_!" Marcella yelled after him. "You know what? Forget it! I'm dumping you! I bet even Stoppable would be a better boyfriend than a _pinche cabrón_ like you!"

Marcella fumed impotently as she scanned the now large crowd for her errant boyfriend, when someone cleared their throat behind her. With her ears burning red, she turned to face Tara, Jessica and Hope. "What?" she snapped angrily.

"Oh, I don't know," Tara smiled to herself. "I just want to remember this line, and I quote, 'even Stoppable would be a better boyfriend than a _pinche cabrón_ like you!' end quote."

Gritting her teeth in anger, Marcella glared at Tara before stomping her foot hard. "Whatever, _puta_!" she yelled without thinking before shoving her way through the milling crowd while cursing aloud in a mix of heavily accented English and Spanish.

After watching her go, Tara felt someone tap her on the shoulder. She turned to find Hope looking forlornly at her. "What is it?"

"T," Hope sighed, sounding full of despair. "B and Ron are really tight, aren't they?"

"Uh huh…" Tara nodded slowly, not exactly sure where this conversation is going.

"Why didn't you tell me that Ron would look this hot in the first place?" Hope sighed.

"I wasn't sure myself," Tara replied with a small laugh. "But he's also sweet and despite his weirdness he _is_ kinda charming if you give it a chance..."

"I know…" Hope whined. With a loud sigh, she looked defeatedly at Tara. "Do you think he's got an older brother?"

Tara let out a laugh. "No, I'm sure he's the only child," Tara replied as she patted Hope's back. Hope's face fell at those words, but immediately perked up when Tara continued, "But I'll ask if he has any cousins."

"Thanks, T. You're the best."

Jessica looked thoughtfully down the corridor for a moment before turning to face Tara. "If Ron's dating Bonnie… How's Kim doing?" she asked slowly.

"Honestly?" Tara's face fell a little. "I don't know how she's taking all of this. I just hope she'll be alright…"

"Yeah, me too." Jessica nodded.

"Woah, hey, Brick," Dennis, the brown-haired punter of Middleton's football team, and best one-hundred seventy-one pound weight class yelled out as he stepped into the locker room, "Have you heard?"

"I'm not dumb," Brick growled back, stuffing his wrestling attire into his locker. "You're the twelfth person to come up and tell me that Bonnie's dating Stops."

"Hey, hey," Dennis laughed. "I would have told you about it sooner, but we only see each other during practice…"

"Yeah, well what're ya gonna to do about it?" Ryan, the left wing tackle during football season and in the two-hundred and fifteen pound class for wrestling, called out from the bench as he peeled off his own wrestling atire. He ran a hand through his black hair to smooth out the tangles. "I mean, Bonnie's the number one girl in all'a Middleton High and she useta be yours. Now ya can't get her back…"

"Hey who said I wanted her back?" Brick scoffed, as he tucked away his gym socks and fumbled around for his wallet.

"Bonnie is one mighty fine bitch and I bet she's one hell of a ride," Dennis smirked. "But I bet if you asked her, she'd come running back to you…" he smirked at some thought, giving it voice a moment later, "I mean, hell, she _must_ be desperate and using him to get you jealous… After all you've just been replaced by the biggest loser of them all…"

"What makes you think Stops is a loser?" Brick replied coolly. "I may get Cs all the time, but I know a good guy when I see one. He helps save the world all the time and that makes him alright in my book."

"Hey, hey," Dennis held up his hands. "I'm just saying. I know for a fact that it's Kim Possible who does all the work. She's the one who saves the world and all of that… Ron's just the long lost puppy that tags along for the show…"

"You guys need to give Stops more props than that," Brick argued. "He's been in and out the hospital more than a couple of times and it's not because he's just tagging along for the show."

"But aren't ya mad that he stole your girl?" Ryan asked curiously.

"Why should I be? Are you mad that you're from Loserville, Wyoming, Ry?" Brick smirked at the lineman and wrestler, earning a glower from the slightly larger teen. Brick grunted a brief laugh at Ryan's reaction before shrugging nonchalantly. "I dumped her. I'm trying to get into college now and my parents would kill me if I repeat my senior year again, even if it was for a Rockwaller..."

"But man, that has to be some blow to your ego," Dennis quipped. "She replaced you in a couple weeks! Just like that!" He snapped his fingers as emphasis.

"Hey, Bonnie's her own girl," Brick retorted. "I could care less who she dates. And Stops is a great guy. So I'm happy for her as long as he doesn't hurt her..."

"Aww… Man, you're too chillaxed…" Ryan groaned.

"So next time it's cool if I move in on your girl?" Dennis asked with a grin.

"Only if you don't mind missing your teeth," Brick growled. "But Bonnie is no longer my girl!"

"Okay, okay, chill, dude," Dennis remarked. "Just making sure here."

"Just lay off the both of them, guys…" Brick muttered darkly as he slung his gym bag over his shoulder and lumbered over to Dennis to tower over his smaller frame. "Once this whole thing blows over, they'll just be another regular couple in school…"

"Hey," Ryan called out from behind Brick. "Now that Stoppable is with Bonnie, what happened ta Kim?"

"Yeah?" Dennis chirped. "I always thought they were a couple! I mean, maybe keeping it quiet so no one'd down her for dating the school loser, but… I mean, _everyone_ knew they were together!"

"I dunno, I always thought they were just friends…" Brick shrugged. "Wait guys, it's alright for Stops to date Kim, but not alright for Stops to date Bonnie?"

"Well, for one thing, Kim's just as weird as Ron…" Dennis remarked. "She fights freaks and knows sixteen styles of kung fu. That girl would probably say no with her fists, if you know what I mean…"

"But I always thought they were a thing," Ryan mused out loud. "I mean, lookit the way they hang out 'n' shit! I'd swear they were married already, y'know? Then suddenly Ron's datin' Bonnie? D'ya think that Ron'n Kim broke up?"

"Hell if I know," Dennis snorted. "I don't care, that chick's trouble. If being her boyfriend means you have to go freak fighting with her, I'm definitely not game for it."

"But she's _the_ Kim Possible!" Ryan pointed out. "Imagine the props ya'd get bein' the guy that popped her cherry! It'd almost be as hot as scoring with that freakish green bitch she fights! Hot, but freaky, both of 'em…"

"Hey, she can break your dick off in three different places and make you wish you were born a woman," Dennis replied. "It's probably a death wish if you wanna try and score with something like that. I mean, how many of us actually wanna try to go out with someone like her?"

"There was Josh," Ryan countered. "He went on a date with her."

"Yeah, but wasn't that a really freaky date?" Dennis remarked. "It was like she was acting all weird and constantly running off to the bathroom…"

"Small bladder?"

"I don't know," Dennis shrugged. "Maybe she's a dyke? After all, a chick that tough has got to be more dude than chick."

"Y'think? Iunno, man, I knew some pretty tough bitches back home…" Ryan commented as he furrowed his brow.

"But there's kinda the proof, y'know? She really screwed poor Mankey up… He's broken up with Tara what, three times?" At the confused looks he received, Dennis shook his head sadly, "Haven't you heard? Tara and Josh broke up, and she's apparently screwing Tony…"

"Um, no, she's not!" Tony, one of the only heavyweight wrestlers on Middleton's team called out from the shower entrance. "I'm still with Crystal, and screw you all if you think I'm screwing up with her again!"

"Hey, that's just what the rumor mill says…" Dennis answered quickly, holding his hands up placatingly. "Just chill, dude…"

"Yeah, let's get back ta Kim…" Ryan quipped, his eyes half lidded in thought, "If she's a dyke, an' she's _also_ a cheerleader... Well, that'd mean…"

"Woah…" Dennis paused as he stared off into space.

"Hey, do you mind?" Brick interrupted the both of them. "Kim's a cool chick. She saves the world, she's definitely hot, and I think she's a lot nicer than you guys give her credit for. And there's no way she's a dyke." Brick paused for a moment as a thought struck him, before a smirk split his face, "Maybe bi, but no way she's a dyke..."

"Woah, so you're interested in her?" Dennis whirled around to stare at the tall blond quarterback in surprise. "No wonder you don't care that Ron's going out with Bonnie. Is that why you know she's not a dyke?"

"That's not it!" Brick grunted with annoyance. "Don't you guys get it? Kim and Ron have been saving the world for a couple years now. We owe them some respect at least, y'know?"

"I guess…" Dennis grudgingly assented. "But this whole Ron and Bonnie thing really threw a lot of things out the window. I mean, heck, Kim's best friend is dating her worst rival… That has got to mean that something happened between the both of them. Maybe they aren't friends anymore…"

"Hmm…" Ryan mused out loud. "Y'know what? Ima go ask Possible out after the cheer practice is over…"

"Hey Kim!"

Kim squeezed her eyes shut as her heart nearly seized at the all too familiar voice. She'd almost made it through the day, avoiding the stares of everyone and sneaking out to have lunch behind the gym where no one but the delinquents go to have a smoke. She'd managed to avoid a lot of embarrassing questions through her refined stealth skills; choosing to enter class just as the bell rings, and disappearing like a ninja before anyone else could collect their books.

She was just hoping this day would end quickly. But then again her best friend had barred her way justas she got to the secluded path that led away from school. Her other best friend…

"Kim, you've been avoiding me the whole day…" Monique asked worriedly, as she clutched her textbooks close to her chest. She peered at the shying red-head with concern.

"Oh, you know me," Kim attempted to grace her friend a smile. "I'm always busy, student committees and school projects… Oh yeah, and I do save the world on occasion too…"

"Really?" Monique asked softly. "You skipped out on your Sunshine club meeting at two. And the School Year Book committee at four. I was waiting, and you didn't show…"

"I… Uh…" Kim gulped as she looked distantly at something past Monique. "Maybe I just got carried away… Uh… Busy and all that… Yeah… Homework, I want to get a heads up on that trigonometry homework that Mr. Barkin handed out."

"Kim, you're a lousy liar, and you know that."

"I…" Kim sighed as she looked away, grimacing in pain. "Monique, I don't feel so well…"

"I know, girl. I know…" Monique wrapped an arm around the shivering red-head. She asked in a soft whisper, "Have you talked to Ron today?" Monique could feel Kim stiffen in her arms and try to pull away.

"Nah…" Kim mumbled softly. "He's busy…"

"He's never too busy for you," Monique replied confidently.

"He's got Bonnie to take care off now… Did you see how scared she was when she was holding hands with Ron in the cafeteria?" Kim strained a laugh. "I've never seen her so terrified… If I knew that she would be so scared, I'd have asked Ron to ask her out a long time ago and she'd be out of my hair…"

"Kim…"

"I'm okay, I'm just tired, that's all…" Kim shrugged.

"Does Ron know how you feel about him?"

Kim screwed up her face in confusion. The clueless look on her face looked almost pitiful, drawing a long, sorrowful sigh from Monique. Kim's words came out in a stammer, "Wha-… What do you mean?"

"I mean, does Ron know that you got it bad for him?" Monique asked in a frustrated huff.

"What?!" Kim yelped, as she glanced around nervously in case someone overheard them. "C'mon, Monique, that's rich…" Kim faked a nervous laugh. "You really think I like Ron? I mean, in that way? He's my best friend… Falling in love with him would be so… Gorchy… I mean, even Ron would say it's wrongsick! It'd probably be like dating one of my brothers…"

Kim gave what seemed to be an honest shudder as she thought about it. If Monique had not known Kim as well as she did, she would have believed the shudder was one of revulsion, but she knew otherwise. "Uh, huh…" the dark skinned teen muttered in a deadpan tone, knowing that she had hit the nail on the proverbial head. "That's why you've been cutting out of class so quickly, why you avoided everyone, even me… Even _Ron_? Bullshit, Kim…"

Kim flinched at her friend's question, her face taking on surprisingly strong set after a moment of seeming contemplation. "Monique, he's got Bonnie, right now and I'm really happy for him."

"Really?" Monique crossed her arms and raised an upturned eyebrow.

"Really," Kim breathed out a loud sigh. "Whatever gave you that idea that I like Ron?" Kim said softly, then raised her hands in a defensive manner as she added, "I mean, he's my best friend! I love him, but not lik-…"

"I don't know?" Monique interrupted, "Maybe it's the way you grilled him when you learned he was in Japan with some hottie Japanese schoolgirl?"

"I did not!" Kim retorted loudly, before realizing her outburst and covered her mouth with her hand. "I did not!" she hissed again in a lower voice. "I was just worried about Ron, that's all… We didn't know who Yori was and I thought she might be up to no good…"

"You nearly blew a gasket when she called him to see if he made it home okay… Especially the way he blushed and hemmed and hawed about it…"

"I did not!" Kim protested. "I was… Um…"

"Um, 'Relieved that she hung up and got out of Ron's life!'?" Monique finished the rest of her sentence firmly. "Nuh uh, Kim, no denying it… Those were _your_ words! You said them to me clearly.

"Um…" Kim gulped as she remembered her conversation with Monique on the phone after Hirotaka had left and Ron had returned. "Maybe… But Bonnie was as much into Hiro as we were, if not more, so that doesn't mean anything, Mo…"

"And you didn't realize that you might have felt jealous because you had a crush on Ron?"

"But I don't have a crush on Ron!"

"Then how do you feel about Ron and Bonnie dating?"

"I'm completely fine with that, seriously!" Kim said, an edge to her voice that, again, only those that really knew her would have detected.

"Okay, I'm just going to spell this out to you, Kim," Monique sighed. "How many men have you ever trusted to see you half dressed? Hell, Kim, how many people _in general_ are you ever even partially undressed in front of?"

"I'm a cheerleader, Mo!" Kim cried in frustration, "I'm almost half naked on the field nearly every day, and after practice and in gym class I showe-…" Kim stopped as a devilish, teasing grin slipped past Monique's serious expression. "No! No-no-no-no-no! Don't _even_ go there, Mo!"

"You said it, Kim, not me…" Monique said, no longer hiding the Cheshire cat like grin. "Tell me, then, how many guys have ever gotten more than a peak at you beyond the cheerleading outfit, hmmm?"

"Ron?" Her face wrinkled up in confusion as she furrowed her brow. "S-so…? Monique, that doesn't make sense one bit! Me? Have feelings for Ron? Monique, if I had feelings for Ron, wouldn't I know in the first place?"

"Okay then, let me try this then," Monique sighed tersely. "Why is it that you haven't been able to get anything _close_ to a long term boyfriend since the braces incident in ninth grade? You're a junior now, and the average girl your age has gone through five boyfriends and six breakups."

"I don't know," Kim shrugged absent-mindedly, sighing loudly as she humored her friend. "I haven't found the perfect guy for me. I mean, Josh was dreamy and all, but he was just too… You know… Boring…"

"Okay, granted, I give you that… But then what are you looking for in a guy?"

"He doesn't need to be cute or really handsome, though it helps… Ok, he has to clean up good, and having a nice butt is kinda a requirement…" Kim blushed as she put the addendum on her description.

"And?" Monique queried leadingly, rolling her hand in a move it along gesture.

"And…" Kim said, staring off into the distance wistfully. "And I really like something distinctive… Freckles, strong jaw, something like that! He _must_ know how to make me laugh, that's _huge_! And he's got to share my same interests, or at least put up with my saving the world and all that… I don't want someone normal, you know, like how he's all straight-edged and boring, but he's got to have his own unique outlook on life and he's got to know how to enjoy himself… He's also got to be very nice to my parents, and my parents must like him…"

"Freckles, check. Laugh, check. Save the world, check. Not normal, check. Unique outlook, check. Nice to parents, check." Monique mused to herself as she ticked off the points one by one on an imaginary checklist in the air. "Do you know who you just described?"

"No?" Kim said, not liking the knowing expression on her friend's face.

Monique smacked her forehead really loudly with the flat of her palm. "Try and give it a guess? And, keep in mind, his ass looked _fine_ in the pants he had on today!"

"Please, if I were in love with Ron, wouldn't I be the first person to know it?" Kim shot back quickly as she tried to stem the tears falling down the side of her face. Her voice was shaking unconvincingly as she sniffled a little. "I mean, he's great and all that… And what girl wouldn't want a guy like that by her side? Who'd stick to her through thick and thin… And always has her back…" She twisted away from Monique and covered her face with her hands, softly crying. As much as she'd tried to deny it, a part of her was filled with regret. "Oh Ron…"

"Atta, girl, let it out before it eats you up and makes you do something stupid…" Monique comforted as Kim latched onto her as a drowning woman would a life preserver. The dark skinned teen held the red-head and stroked her back comfortingly. "I'm sorry you figured out your feelings this late… It'd always seemed to me that you're always comparing every guy you've met with Ron… I would have told you sooner, but… I thought he'd always be there for you too…"

"But…" Kim burst out crying as she clutched firmly onto Monique's blouse, wringing the thin fabric in her fingers. Through her sobs, Monique could barely make out her gasping, staccato words, "He's with… With… B… Bonnie… Now… And… I… I… Can't tell… Him…"

"It's okay, Kim," Monique consoled the crying girl. "There's just nothing we can do about it now…"

At that simple observation, a fresh reservoir of tears broke through from the red-head. She continued crying, not caring anymore, as her heart had already been broken and crushed; it had just taken her too long to realize it.

**Author's Notes**

Okay, this chapter took a long time in the making: half a year to be exact. See a lot of things happened in between, and I didn't really have a direction for this story. However, I discovered my muse hiding behind a mouldy PB&J sandwich under my bed.

This chapter is basically about the fallout from Ron and Bonnie's relationship, so I'm kinda looking at what else is going on around them before I move on a little more with the story and finally get to the end of it, which should be in another few chapters. Here's to hoping that I can finish this up in a few months. I technically have chapter 5 finished, but kgs-wy has it hidden somewhere, probably next to his plot bunneh stew pot… But hopefully, it won't be too long between updates.

And thanks for holding back on the threatening PMs.


	5. Chapter 5

Bonnie flitted down the stairs in anticipation. It had been a full month since she and Ron had started dating, and she could not be happier. The rumors had started to quell down, with much thanks to Kim's friend, Mon-… nica? Mariah? Bonnie chewed her lip for a moment, then discarded her brief worry, knowing the name would stick with her soon enough. She was definitely grateful for the dark skinned girl's social and spin control skills, to say the least. What was even better was that most of the student body seemed genuinely happy with them being together.

It had been tough at first, with a lot of backlash due to the perceived changes their dating brought to the school's social hierarchy. It had been especially tough to keep her status at the top of the food chain, but at least she had enough ammo remaining from her time as the Queen B that she could, regrettably in some cases, savage a few key reputations.

She paused in thought about halfway down the stairs. A month ago, if someone had said she would feel regret using the social ammunition she had gained as Queen B, she would have laughed in their face. Oh, to be sure, some of the people deserved such savaging, and she'd been more than happy to dish on them to help the cause of both raising Ron in everyone's eyes, as well as keeping her place in the social pecking order that was the food chain.

There were a dozen and twelve things about her that had changed since she had started dating Ron. There were a couple of rough patches with some of her sycophantic friends, but Ron had pulled through for her. But she should make sure… Make a few calls and whisper a few untrue rumors… She quickly caught herself, as her shame rose to her cheeks in a crimson blush.

_That is hard-ass bitchery._ She chided herself, using Ron's words. He had called her a bitch a long time ago, an incident she would never forget. But… He was right. With a sigh, she restrained herself and remembered her resolve to be a better person. She did not want to fall back into the very hole she had only recently clawed herself out of.

After all, before she had started dating him, no one would ever _dare_ question her for going out with a loser. Now? Now it was not only accepted, but lauded, especially after Ron had metamorphosed from that messy, unkempt kid to the latest hot stuff to strut the halls. Soon he would cement a reputation as the most eligible boy ever to walk through Middleton High School. And he would be all hers.

_Nothing but the best for…_

She shook her head again, quickly clamping down on that thought, feeling a little guilty about how quickly she had slipped back into her old habits. Bonnie quickly turned her mind to the grand importance of today. Today would be _their_ one-month anniversary.

Lightly skipping into the kitchen, she happily noted that both Lonnie and Connie were still not talking to each other as they sat across each other from the kitchen table. The less they spoke to each other meant the less they would gang up on her and remind her that she is neither the prettiest nor the smartest in the family.

_But at least I have the best boyfriend in the whole wide world…_

Bonnie caught herself from swooning too much, as she suddenly realized that she'd buttered both sides of her toast. That was so unbecoming of her. If he ever found out how she felt about him, then she'll be completely at his mercy. _Love is like a war game,_ she chided herself, _You can't show any weaknesses! Even though he is the nicest, kindest and sweetest boy who wouldn't ever treat you like that and he'll hold you in his arms and make sure that everything is… Stop it, Bonnie!_

Walking out of the kitchen, she sat down in the living room on the couch while patiently waiting for Ron to show up at her doorstep and walk her to school like the gallant gentleman he could so often be. She idly thought about how they would celebrate their one-month anniversary tonight. Maybe let him have a peek, she thought naughtily to herself.

At the chime of the front door, she quickly leaped from her seat and hastily threw the door open, ready to give him a hug when…

"Huh?" she glanced around, wondering if someone was just ringing doorbells and playing pranks on the neighborhood. Looking down, she noticed saw a bright blue PDA on the doorstep, just like the one Kim had. With a shrug, she picked it up and almost yelped in surprise as the screen suddenly came to life and a young, chubby African-American boy appeared onscreen.

"Hey, Bonnie, right?" the boy called nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm Wade, one of Ron's friends, and the tech guy for Team Possible... Ron asked me to pass on a message for you. He got called away for a mission, and won't be able to walk you to school this morning."

"When will he be back?" Bonnie asked, trying to hide the evident disappointment in her voice.

"No idea, you know how these missions go," Wade gave a nervous chuckle. "He could get back before second period, or after lunch. But he did specifically tell me to tell you that tonight's date is still on, and he wouldn't miss it even if the world was in danger."

"Silly boy," Bonnie almost restrained a smile that threatened to appear, the corners of her lips curling ever so slightly at the thought behind Ron having this delivered to her. With a cool, lofty voice, she said, "Tell him he had better keep his word."

"I'll pass on the message," Wade replied. "And one last thing, Ron got me to whip this up for you so that he could be in touch. If you want to talk to Ron, just press the big red button and I'll patch you through to him."

"Why do I need to talk to you if I want to talk to my boyfriend?" Bonnie asked haughtily.

"Ah… Ulp… No… But…" Wade gulped nervously as beads of perspiration appeared on his forehead. "Just in case, you know… We don't want Kim's Kimmunicator going off suddenly and giving away their position to the bad guys."

"Oh…" Bonnie's heart dropped a little as she realized that it was for Ron's safety. "Right, so anything else?"

"No, so… Later!"

She examined the bright, blue PDA a little first, looking at the very tacky choice of colors and the cheap plastic casing, wondering how she would ever accessorize such a thing. But if it lets her keep in touch with Ron… Without further thought, she dropped it into her purse, and with a sigh, went back to the couch to pick up her book bag.

It was going to be a long walk to school, but at least she'd see him tonight.

* * *

"Miss Rockwaller. Miss Rockwaller!"

Bonnie suddenly sat upright as the hulking, overbearing shadow of the former SEAL Steve Barkin fell on her table, blotting out the sunlight that was streaming through the windows onto her notebook. The same notebook where she had been scrawling Ron's name and hers, side by side, complimented with a good sized heart drawn around it.

"You have been spacing out during my class, and I do not appreciate it! My lessons aren't certainly as boring as _detention_!" Mr Barkin threatened for good measure as he fixed a stern gaze on her.

"I'm sorry, Mr Barkin," Bonnie suddenly sat upright at the mention of detention. "Won't happen again."

"And keep your eyes straight and forward!" Mr Barkin warned with his loud booming voice. "Mr Stoppable won't be joining us for classes today."

With her face burning red at the fact that even the teachers knew about her relationship with Ron, she threw a nasty glance in the direction where she heard a ghost of a snicker. She had to sic a few rumors in that direction, just so that they know better than to laugh at…

"Miss Rockwaller!"

"Yes, sir…" Bonnie looked forward, and pretended to listen with rapt attention to the droning of the man as he went on about the pure literary beauty of Lo Behold The Swords Shall Plow. Her eyes wandered to Ron's empty seat which was next to Kim's equally empty seat. Feeling a slight pang of jealousy and worry, she wondered: _Just where the hell is Ron?_

_

* * *

_

"Hey you! Kim's friend!" Bonnie called across the lunch room, after dumping her tray and hurrying after the very person she was looking for.

A pair of suddenly cold brown eyes turned and looked at her with no-nonsense flare, as the girl's arms went sternly across her chest. "What do you want, _Bonnie_?" Monique replied putting as much venom as she could put in her voice.

"You're Kim's friend, right?"

"N'duh, _Bonnie_," Monique grated her teeth as she gave a snort of disgust. "Look, I have a name…"

"Right, right… Monica or something, right?"

"It's _Monique_!" Monique spun on her heels and shoved through the heavy double-doors of the cafeteria and stomped her way out into the hallways.

"Hey, wait… I'm sorry," Bonnie called as she hurried after the mocha-skinned girl. "We just don't talk much…"

"What do you want?"

"Ron hasn't come back from his mission yet, and I was wondering if it normally took this long…" Bonnie explained with a nervous look on her face as she wrung her fingers. "I'm really sorry about the name and all that, but you don't need to be all hostile against me even though you're Kim's friend and…"

"Listen here, Bonnie," Monique warned as she eyed the brunette. "It's not that I don't like you because I'm Kim's friend. It's just that I don't like you. Period."

"I…"

"No, girl. Ever since freshman year, I have had to put up with your constant insults and putdowns to my friends, and how you're always ragging about the clothes I wear just because I don't have a dad like yours who spends thousands just to get me new outfits every season." Monique noticed a sudden confusion in Bonnie's face, and figured the stuck-up, apparently reformed Queen B didn't understand what she meant. "Okay, since you don't get it: I'm poor compared to you, but I guess that's a _good_ thing! It doesn't make me a total bitch," Monique replied coldly. "And while you are Ron's girlfriend, that doesn't automatically mean that I have to be nice to you."

"Okay, fine," Bonnie snipped as she crossed her arms, finding herself falling back on old habits to defend herself from the sudden, quite unexpected accusation. "Like I care!"

"Then we don't have a problem," Monique replied bluntly as she walked away.

Torn between her injured pride, what she knew were inaccuracies in Monique's brief monologue, and overwhelming concern for Ron, Bonnie stood uncomfortably in the corridor before suddenly sprinting after the girl.

"Monique!" Bonnie called out as she caught up with her. "Okay, fine. I'm sorry for treating your friends like that all the time. And I'm sorry about the name thing, but… I…" Bonnie looked around to make sure no one was around to hear her, "Look, I suck at names, okay? I… I'm sorry…" Monique kept her stern gaze fixed on Bonnie, but allowed the barest of acknowledging nods at the brunette. "But, please… Could you at least tell me: do you think Ron's alright? Does he usually go on long missions like this?"

Monique eyed Bonnie carefully as she kept her arms crossed. "Fine. For Ron's sake, I'll tell you," she replied. "But I'm surprised you never noticed. After all, Ron has been in most of your classes since the tenth grade."

"I…" Bonnie's face burned with shame as she realized that she'd never noticed when Ron was absent from class. She had always brushed his absence off as a blessing, and that at least he wouldn't be around to embarrass himself or the people around him. "You're right," Bonnie sighed. "I'm a class-A bitch…"

Raising one eyebrow at the admission, Monique watched her silently for a moment. "Kim and Ron usually go on their missions, two days tops. But most of the time they'll be back in time for afternoon classes."

"Right, thanks…" Bonnie fell silent for a moment as she digested the information. "What are those missions like? Are… Are those missions usually dangerous?"

"It's saving the world business," Monique replied sarcastically. "What do you think?"

"But is he going to be safe?"

With a long sigh, Monique rolled her eyes. "Girl, Ron has been through more than a few scrapes and bruises before. Do you remember during the football match against Lowerton High, where Ron was in his mascot uniform and mistimed his jump and collided into you and a few other cheerleaders?"

Bonnie nodded her head slowly as she remembered that incident about two months ago. She bit her lower lip as she realized that she had said quite a few choice things to Ron at that time. He had been such a clumsy buffoon and had embarrassed her in front of the entire Middleton _and_ Lowerton student population.

"When Kim helped him up and took him to the hospital, his left ankle had swollen up like a grapefruit," Monique continued bluntly as though reading her mind. "He'd sprained it on a mission that same day saving some ambassador's aide… That's why he was a 'clumsy buffoon'. But he still went ahead with his routine even if he bombed it. And of course, no thanks to you and that verbal bashing you gave him."

"Oh god…" Bonnie started to feel a little light-headed.

"Anyway, you don't need to worry," Monique went on. "Kim, that girl you hate with all your guts…"

"I don't hate her…"

"Yeah, whatever, she'll definitely bring Ron back in one piece," Monique continued, ignoring the pained expression on Bonnie's face. "They'll bring _each other_ back in one piece. So think about that the next time you decide to chew her out for neglecting her cheerleading captaincy duties. Kim may be too nice to rub it in your face, but I'm not."

"I'm really sorry about that," Bonnie apologized in a tiny voice, as she cursed herself inwardly. "I didn't know."

"Anyway, you owe Kim a lot more than you think."

"Uh huh," Bonnie nodded her head shamefully. Suddenly, something about Monique's tone clicked in her head, and she looked at Monique oddly. "Umm… Monique, how close are Kim and Ron?"

"They're best friends," Monique replied bluntly. "And Kim's not some cheap whore who steals away someone else's boyfriend, even though they don't deserve him."

"I… I didn't mean that…"

"Sure you didn't," Monique rolled her eyes. "Are we done, yet?"

"Y-… Yeah…" Bonnie stammered as she tried to smile. Just before Monique turned away, she asked, "Hey… For what it's worth, I'm really sorry for… Everything, alright?"

"Uh, huh…" Monique all but grated, turning to go. Monique turned on her heel and made to move away, but Bonnie reached out and gently grasped the dark skinned girl's shoulder.

"Wait, Monic-… Monique… Look, I'm sorry, I really am," Monique turned her head and half glared at Bonnie, drawing out a stammer from the teal eyed beauty. "I've always thought you seemed pretty cool, and I never said anything bad about you… Not even when you were hanging out with Kim and…"

"Ron?" Monique finished the sentence for her. "Whatever, Bonnie, I don't care what you think of me, I don't need to look for you for affirmation of my own self-confidence. I'm sure you've figured out by now that your definition of 'cool' doesn't mean a thing. After all, you are now dating, in your own words, 'the biggest ever loser to walk through these halls'."

Bonnie cringed at the ad verbatim quote. She may have said it, but she didn't really mean it. Did she? "Yeah, I know… I'm lower than dirt," Bonnie replied softly. "But please don't make this hard on me. I realized that Ron's the best thing that ever happened to me and I really don't want to mess this one good thing in my life up."

Monique studied her for a moment. Bonnie may be a good actress, but she couldn't be that Oscar-winning good. The shock Bonnie had shown when the dark skinned girl had accused the brunette of insulting her, as well as the her apparent sincerity now, struck a chord in Monique. Bonnie was definitely nervous, and apparently quite ashamed, two traits that the Queen B has never shown before. And the way she shuffled and looked at her shoes, glancing at Monique anxiously, as though looking to her for approval…

"Um… I know I did a lot of nasty things to Kim and Ron before, and… Maybe some of the things I said about Kim got back as things I said about you, I don't know, but…" she paused to take a deep breath, continuing in a rush. "But I'd really like to make to you two… You know, maybe get to know you two a little better. After all, you two are a big part of Ron's life…" Bonnie's tone was earnest, and bordering on panic as she tried to get her thoughts out, forcing Monique to school her face further into neutrality. "And it would mean a lot to me if we could… You know, hang out together or something… Like maybe at the mall, this weekend… Just us, girls…"

"Maybe," she replied with a non-committal shrug, though Monique was more than a little curious about this new Bonnie. "Just give Kim a call on Saturday, and we'll see…"

"Right, I will… I promise"

* * *

Bonnie sat nervously on her couch as she ran her fingers over the Kimmunicator in her hand. Wade had contacted her to let her know Ron was back from his mission. That had been about thirty minutes earlier, and he was apparently was going home to wash up before coming over to take her out for their one-month anniversary.

A part of her wished that she had the courage to tell him to take it easy and rest after his day-long mission. He had ended up missing school the entire day, and she clutched the offending pile of homework in her hands which, according to Mr Barkin, must be finished by next week. And he must be tired after all that freak-fighting, maybe she should just call it off and go over to his house and spend some quiet time together.

But Ron had already gotten reservations for the both of them, plus movie tickets. And she had gone out and bought a new dress for tonight. A small part of her chided her for being selfish and reminded her that she had promised herself to be a better girlfriend to Ron and all-round better person to everyone else. _God, I've been such a bit-…_

A knock on the door sent her flying, her thoughts coming to a jarring, jangling halt as she swung the door open to a smiling blond, holding a bouquet of red roses. With a squeal of delight, she flung her arms around his neck and buried her face into the crook of his shoulder.

"Ron!" Bonnie nuzzled her cheek against his before pulling back and giving him a light peck on the lips. "I missed you…"

"Hey, Bon-Bon…" Ron grinned back as he swept his unruly hair back with his hand. "Missed you lots too… So are you ready to go out?"

"I was ready ever since I got up," Bonnie smiled sweetly. As she took a step back and looked at his face, a concerned look quickly overtook her features. "You sure you want to do this? You look pretty tired."

"Naw, Bon-Bon," Ron brushed off her worries. "I'm fine, and I know tonight is important to you. So… Oh yeah… Flowers, for the beautiful lady." With a bow, he offered the bouquet of roses in his hand.

"Thanks, Ron," Bonnie gushed as she happily admired the roses. "But you shouldn't…"

"Nothing's too good for my Bon-Bon…"

"Sweet talker…" Bonnie blushed like the giggling schoolgirl she was at that moment and spun away, looking for a place to lay her roses. "C'mon, let's go. Otherwise we'll be late for the movie."

"As you wish…" Ron replied as he gallantly held out his arm for her. Graciously accepting his invitation, Bonnie accepted his arm and beamed at him as they walked together down towards the car that Ron's parents had agreed to lend him for the night.

As Bonnie looked out the car Ron had driven over in, a small, very minor part of her hoping it wasn't something that she would be embarrassed being seen in. She immediately quashed that thought, even as that part of her snidely pointed out that it was a wagon. That part found itself quickly silenced when she realized that the _wagon_ was a Volvo XC70 crossover. _And you still claim your family doesn't have money, Ron?_ She thought at him, before again fighting that part of herself down with a vengeance.

She felt grand when Ron opened the front passenger door for her, and demurely slipped into her seat, as Ron ran around the front to get into the driver's seat. Just as he released the hand brake, Bonnie gently rested her hand on his. Her gesture surprised Ron as he turned to look at Bonnie for a moment, with a wide grin on his face. He held her hand and gave it a little squeeze, before he started pulling out of the driveway and onto the streets. They held hands the rest of the way to the movies.

Getting tickets was the easy part. It was a Tuesday night, and Ron had a friend on the inside who helped him secure a pair of tickets. Bonnie was initially pleased until she noticed that Ron's 'friend' was a pretty young Hispanic chick who has been more than cozy with Ron a few times in the past in Math and Literature class. As Ron chatted away with Zita for a few minutes while flashing a smile that should only reserved for her, Bonnie imagined herself raking those admittedly pretty brown doe-eyes out of her pretty face for mentally undressing her boyfriend.

Her jealousy was briefly forgotten when Ron said goodbye and pulled her aside gently by the waist. As though reading her mind, he lightly brushed her cheek and asked her whether she wanted popcorn or drinks. And just to be vindictive, she blithely replied that she wanted a megasized diet Coke. Not that she would even finish half of it, but that was payback for his brief spate of 'unfaithfulness'. With the drink in her hands, she felt a brief sense of triumph, as she happily reasserted control of their relationship.

_But the next time he so much as looks at another girl, it's gonna cost him nothing less than a fancy dinner. And diamonds… Dad always bought mom diamonds when they got into a fight… Maybe a diamond ring… It'll look so nice on my finger…_

Bonnie's mind seized up for a minute as she realized the implications of her demands. A furious crimson blush rose to her cheeks and she almost wanted to rush to the toilet to fix her makeup… Or vomit over the far too materialistic thoughts she was still fighting, she wasn't sure which. But if she did that, she would leave Ron alone with that shameless slut for five minutes and… Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself down and common sense talked her down from half-formed plans to spread rumors about how Zita had herpes. Ron wouldn't like that at all.

And remembering her earlier conversation with Monique, Bonnie finally reined in her own green-eyed monster and remembered her vow to be a better girlfriend to Ron.

As they pushed their way past the seated occupants already in the theatre, Bonnie couldn't help but notice that Ron seemed a little distracted and maybe a little woozy on his feet. Plonking down into the cinema seats, Bonnie asked, "Hey Ron, are you _sure_ okay? You almost stumbled back there."

Leaning over to whisper to her, Ron replied, "I'm just a little tired from my mission, that's all. It's no big."

"Really?" Bonnie's voice filled with concern as she furrowed her brow. Looking closer at Ron's face in the dim light of the screen bouncing off their faces, she asked, "Are you sure? You're looking a little pale."

"Don't worry, Bon-bon," Ron smiled reassuringly at her. "I'm fine… Let's just enjoy the movie, okay?"

Unconvinced, Bonnie leaned back into her chair and took a long sip of her diet Coke. Casting a sidelong glance at him, she felt a little uneasy just as the opening credits rolled. Her mind was barely on the movie, and she couldn't absorb the words that the main character of the movie was saying to the best friend of the woman that he would inevitably end up with and kiss just before the final credits. The plot, even though it was a chick flick, was so passé, that she didn't even know why she had insisted that Ron watch the movie with her. Maybe it was to convince herself that Ron would do anything for her; even sit through ninety minutes of this travesty of a Patrick Dempsey movie.

It was clear that Ron wasn't enjoying the movie; he was shifting in his seat uncomfortably, and had twice gotten up to use the restroom. She'd glanced over torn between her concern that maybe Ron wasn't as well as he let on, and the fact that he wasn't pretending to enjoy the movie just for her sake. The third time when Ron excused himself, Bonnie got more than a little exasperated and followed him out.

"Are you okay?" Bonnie asked out loud, just as soon as she pushed her way through the cinema's heavy double doors. "Don't tell me the movie is that bad."

"No, Bonnie…" Ron's face suddenly twisted, and he winced in pain, raising his hand to his left ear.

Bonnie's eyes suddenly widened as she rushed over to his side. "Oh my god, Ron. What's wrong?"

"It's just… My ear…" Ron smiled feebly. "I'll be okay in a few…"

"Here… Let me see," Bonnie pulled away his left hand covering his ear. It was the glistening bright red line that caught her attention first, the trail lazily tracing the contours of his ear before it dripped down the side of his neck, staining his collar ever so slightly. With a panicked wheeze, she squeezed his wrist hard, "Ron! You're bleeding! We have got to get you to a hospital, _right now_!"

"It's okay," Ron shrugged as he looked at his blood-stained palm. "It's happened before. All I need to do is wash it off and…"

"What do you mean it has happened before?" Bonnie felt a large hand had just reached into her chest and squeezed her heart. "This is serious!"

"I'm really fine, Bonnie! Let's just finish the movie first, okay?" Ron insisted, turning quickly towards the theater bathroom, "I don't want to ruin your…" Ron's voice quickly faded off, his words becoming slurred as the sudden turn caught up to him. His eyes rolled towards the back of his head, leaving only the whites of his eyes visible. The next thing Bonnie knew, she was supporting Ron as his knees buckled and he fell over in a dead faint.

Bonnie screamed.

* * *

A haggard Kim and a worried Anne Possible rushed through the main door of the Accident and Emergency ward of Middleton General and straight to the reception desk. With a breathless voice, Anne asked the nurse on duty, "Roseanne, did a patient by the name of Ron Stoppable come in recently?"

"Hang on, Dr. Possible, I need to check the records…" The nurse started typing away on the computer.

"He's in examination room 3," a tearful Bonnie mumbled meekly from behind.

Spinning around in surprise, Kim turned and glared at Bonnie. "What happened to him?" Kim raised her voice a little louder than she'd actually intended to. Before she could reach out and grab Bonnie by the shoulders and shake her head loose, Kim felt a heavy hand on her own shoulders.

Ignoring her daughter's outburst, Anne Possible gently pushed Kim aside and with a soft voice, asked, "Bonnie? Could you tell us what happened to Ron tonight?"

Bonnie numbly nodded her head as she began speaking, between hiccups and choking back sobs. "He… He just started bleeding out of his ear… And then he… He… He fainted… Then I called the ambulance… The doctors won't let me in to see him…"

"That's okay," Anne said, as she patted the distraught brunette on the arm. Turning to her daughter, she spoke in a no-nonsense voice, "Kim, try and _calm_ Bonnie down. I'll see how Ron is doing and then I'll let you two know."

"Okay, mom," Kim mumbled as she took note of the reproachful tone her mom had just used.

"Mrs. Possible…" Bonnie suddenly reached out and grabbed her arm just as Anne was about to turn away. "Is he going to be alright?"

With a soft sigh, Anne looked at the brunette. "I don't know until I see him," Anne said. Noticing the sudden lighter shade of Bonnie's face, she quickly added, "I don't like to make promises as a doctor, but I'm sure it's not too serious."

Reluctantly, Bonnie let her hand loosen it's hold on Anne's arm, and could only watch as the red-head pushed her way through the door that said 'Doctors and patients only'. Bonnie wrung her fingers nervously as she glanced at Kim.

"What were you doing with Ron?" Kim growled out, sounding more like a threat than a question.

"We… We were on a date…"

"A date?" Kim exploded incredulously, not caring that a few nurses and patients had turned to look at her little outburst. A nurse shushed her and Kim looked her direction and mouthed a little apology. She grabbed Bonnie by the arm, who gave a little squeak of surprise and pain, before dragging her outside. "What were you doing with Ron on a date?"

"I… He…" Bonnie mumbled dazedly as she looked helplessly at Kim.

"Didn't you _know_ that he just came back from a mission? Ron almost got blown up tonight, and all you can think about is going out on a date?" Kim screeched.

"Blown up?" Bonnie felt a little light-headed as a shiver ran through her body. "What… What do you mean? Like… Like a bomb, or… What?"

"Yes, like a bomb!" Kim yelled out loudly, not caring if anyone else would have shushed her. "Have you ever heard of Duff Killigan?"

Bonnie nodded numbly. "That… Crazy skirt wearing golfer freak… The one Ron told me you two have fought a few times?"

"Yes, and he uses exploding golf balls as his signature weapon..." Kim continued, earning a strangled sound of panic from Bonnie. Kim glanced back, part of her enjoying the pain she was inflicting on the brunette, another part worried that she was hurting her best friend's love. Her vindictive side briefly won out as she continued in a cool, even tone. "One of them exploded close to Ron, almost right next to his head… If he had been any slower, you would be attending his _funeral_ instead of visiting him here!"

"What… What happened on that mission?" Bonnie asked, as she slumped back against the wall.

"Hostage situation," Kim replied coldly. "It was a bank job gone wrong, Duff wanted some famous golfer's trophy, which was in a safety deposit box… And 'cause it was Duff, we got called in... He had some experienced bank robbers with him, they were armed with golf clubs that were actually guns… I took out two of them, while Ron took out the last one. Duff teed off one of his golf balls at Ron, and Ron ducked to cover the bank manager from the ball… It hit the wall just behind him …"

Bonnie felt a little shudder run through her body. "Ron… Could have died…" she repeated to herself. And that's when she glanced down and realized that Kim had her left arm wrapped in gauze and left ankle that was clearly swelling, even though she was trying her best not to walk with a limp.

"Yes! And here you are dragging him out on a date instead of letting him rest at home!" Kim raised her voice angrily. "God, Bonnie, I've put up with your selfishness at school, but if anything happens to Ron…"

"I didn't know!" Bonnie cried out, blinking away hot tears and not seeming to care about her mascara running. "I didn't know! He said he was fine, and I took his word!"

"Like I believe…"

"I'm serious, Kim!" Bonnie insisted desperately. "I love Ron! I really do! I wouldn't dream of hurting him, like I promised you the first time you found out that Ron and I were dating. This is serious, Kim. I'm serious about him and I won't do anything to hurt him!"

Kim pursed her lips skeptically as she studied her brunette rival. A million different emotions welled up in her, and she barely held back the rage that she was about to inflict on the crying girl. She let out a shout of anger, stomping her good right foot while clenching her teeth hard. "Look, Bonnie," Kim gritted her teeth. "If I ever… If I ever find out that you're just messing with Ron…"

"I'm just as worried for him as you are, Kim!" Bonnie cried, her eyes begging Kim to understand that.

"You had better be..."

The two girls looked at each other in silence, before Kim pulled away to look into the ward. Despite her injured foot, she paced around like a caged animal, while occasionally glancing at a nervous Bonnie who was fingering her cell phone. She was about to say something snide to the brunette, when she caught sight of her mother making her way out of the examination room. "Mom!" Kim called out loudly, limping past the entrance doors that were opening far too slowly from her perspective.

Bonnie's head instantly shot up and she raced straight to the startled woman. "How's Ron?" she asked in a hurry. Kim, despite her foot, had also sprinted up to her mom.

"Hang on, girls," Anne addressed the both of them who'd nearly run her over. "Ron's alright. You both can see him…" At those words, the two girls tried to make their way past her into the examination room, only to be restrained as Anne grabbed both their hands. "Wait up, you two," Anne smiled a little at their enthusiasm. "You both can see him, but only for a short time, he'll be in for observation overnight, upstairs in room seven thirty-six. If he gets tired or groggy, you'll have to leave, and Doctor Darzi doesn't want anyone in there for more than half hour, got it? No more…"

"What…" Bonnie started, swallowing against the sudden dryness in her throat, "What happened?" she asked softly, the worry in her voice and tightening her face finally breaking through to Kim that she might, indeed care for Ron.

Anne smiled down at Bonnie, her tone soothing as she explained what was wrong,. "Ron's got a perforated ear drum… So you two might want to keep your voices down, since he's got a killer headache that regular painkillers won't really help with, and he refused narcotics… And we don't want to put too much stress on the eardrum."

"Thanks, mom." Kim said simply, her tone the calmest it had been since she had received the call about Ron's impromptu hospital visit.

"Thanks, Mrs. Possible," Bonnie nodded her head politely as she walked to the elevators after Kim. The trip up was silent, but surprisingly stress free**. **_Kim must have been her herself, hurt or… Visiting Ron…_Bonnie realized, as the redhead seemed to know her way around the seventh floor, finding Ron's room seconds after they left the elevator.

The two of them spied Ron sitting on a bed holding a towel to his ear. His face lit up as he saw the both of them. "Bon-bon! KP!"

Kim was the first to reach him and threw her arms around his neck. She gave him a tight squeeze that took his breath away before she finally reassured herself that he was alright. Kim reluctantly pulled away and looked into his face, before her face took an angry set and with a low hiss, growled at the blond teen, "You said you were alright!"

"I am…" Ron's feeble protest quickly died on his lips as he wilted under the deadly glares of his best friend and his girlfriend.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Bonnie asked as she wiped away fresh tears from her eyes, not caring about the fact that Kim had pressed herself against Ron so closely.

"I… I thought you were really looking forward to the movie… You have been talking about it for weeks, and I thought you'd really like watching it on its premiere…" Ron tried to explain.

"Are you kidding me?" Bonnie tried her best to put on a brave countenance, as she felt her insides crumble. Here she was, feeling jealous the whole night about how he was talking to Zita, or how he wasn't pretending to like the movie… Bonnie took a deep, centering breath, announcing, "I hate Patrick Dempsey! He's a talentless hack who couldn't do anything else but get by on his good looks in overly dramatic and lame romantic movies!"

Ron looked at her in surprise. "Then why did you wanted to watch that movie?"

"Because I was sure it was going to be a lousy movie…"

"Then why watch it…"

Bonnie rolled her eyes as she tried her best to ignore Kim who was giving her incredulous looks. "Sometimes," she explained slowly with air-quotes, "Couples go to the movies to 'watch' movies, but then they don't actually watch the movie."

"I don't get it, then why would they go to the movies? Isn't it a waste of mon-… Oh…" Ron's eyes opened wide as his brain finally caught up to his mouth. "You mean that we were supposed to…"

"Too much information!" Kim suddenly cut in as she covered Ron's mouth in a hurry. Giving Bonnie a weak smile, she continued, "I'm just glad you're okay. But next time, Ron, you have to tell me these things!"

"Sure…"

"No, Ron, I'm serious here," Kim looked at him closely. "We're best friends; we're supposed to tell each other everything…" Throwing a sudden look at Bonnie, she hastily added, "Plus, I need to know what sort of condition you're in, if we are able to do missions together. That way, I know exactly what you can do and you know exactly what I can do. Otherwise, we'll end up in really dangerous situations if I can't count on you…"

"I'm sorry, KP…" Ron hung his head a little. "If I told you, you would have insisted that I stay home tonight instead of going on a date with Bonn-…" He found himself yanked forward roughly, and seeing the livid expression his girlfriend was giving him, wisely decided to shut his mouth.

"Which is exactly what I would have done too, if I'd have known!" Bonnie chimed in with a barely controlled growl. "Ron, I'm sorry that I haven't been that great of a girlfriend to you…"

"Oh, I don't know about that," Ron tried to force a smile. "You're the only girlfriend I've ever had, so I got nothing to compare."

Noticing Kim wince at the comment, Bonnie continued, hoping to ignore Kim's reaction, "Ron, you're more important to me that some stupid date or some stupid movie. And if you're not feeling well, I'd understand. In the least, we could have a date at your house."

"Ah… I guess I can't say no to that," Ron replied softly, "I just… This is your first relationship to last a month, and I know it was important… I… I didn't think you'd just want to bum around my house for-…" he was silenced by a short, but firm kiss from Bonnie, who smiled at him while still holding his collar firmly in her hands.

"Just… Just don't scare me…" She glanced at Kim with a strangely thankful expression, "Or Kim… Like that again, 'kay? If you're hurt…"

"No… No worries, Bonnie… Promise…"

"Alright then," Kim finally replied, a strained but heartfelt smile slowly spreading across her face. "I guess we better leave soon. My mom said we only have a half hour, so I'll let you two spend the last few minutes together. I'll come visit you tomorrow."

"Me too," Bonnie added as she flicked her gaze over at Kim for a moment to let her know that she cared as much as Kim does. "Until then, here's something to remember me by." She leaned over and gave Ron a full kiss on the lips much to the wide-eyed surprise of Kim. "Ron," she whispered as she pulled away. "I don't know what I would do if anything worse had happened to you.

"Nothing will happen to me."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

The two girls walked out of the recovery and observation room in silence, looking back one last time at Ron who gave them a wave. They soon found themselves standing outside the hospital looking at the night sky, both heaving a sigh of relief for the first time that night.

Looking straight into the distance, Bonnie spoke out loud, "So is the truce still on?"

"It still is," Kim said softly.

"Good," Bonnie said with heartfelt relief. She glanced over at Kim, worried that it was a bad time to broach the subject, but decided that now was as good a time as any. "Um, K? I… I talked to Mar-… _Monique_, sorry… Earlier today, and…" Kim glanced over and raised an eyebrow at Bonnie, cocking her head in a sign for the brunette to continue. "Well… I offered to take you and her out to the mall for… Well, I dunno, hanging out, shopping, whatever? To… So we can kinda get to know each other… I mean, you're all good friends with Ron, and… I really, really don't know you guys well…"

"No, you don't…" Kim agreed after a moment, hoping to push Bonnie into continuing her thoughts, "And since when do stumble over your words?" she finally said, the barest ghost of a smile threatening her lips, but managing to keep her tone cool.

"Since…" Bonnie paused, thinking for a moment, "Well… Since dating Ron has shown me who the _real_ losers at Middleton High were…" Kim barely restrained a shocked exclamation, her eyes widening slightly at Bonnie's blunt statement.

Kim started to turn towards the brunette, about to say something when Bonnie continued, her speech slow and deliberate as she thought through what she was saying. "And, as for you and Monique… I-I'd really like to… To get to know you two, to… To try to make up for being a Class-A bitch all these years…" She let out a nervous laugh, finding it almost as hard to ask this of Kim than it had been to agree to a second date with Ron. "If… If you'd want to, anyway? She kinda implied she would if you went, but I don't want to push things with our truce…"

Kim took in a deep breath, weighing the offer. Yes, Bonnie had indeed been a Class-A bitch for years. But if she was as sincere about at least getting to know her and Monique as she was about loving Ron? She exhaled gently, shoving the vindictive side of herself back into the small hole she normally kept it in. "Sure, I guess… If Mo still wants to, of course…" Kim said uncertainly, earning an appreciative nod of thanks from Bonnie. "And, Bonnie? Thanks… For getting him here as quick as you did…" she grudgingly added.

"Thanks for getting him back home…" Bonnie replied, just as grudgingly.

_Maybe_… Kim found herself conceding after a long moment. _Maybe they are good for each other… Maybe even… _Almost against her will, Kim turned to look at Bonnie, and found herself wishing them luck. She suddenly felt light headed, and was shocked to realize the weight that she had felt on both her shoulders and her heart seemed to lift away, as if it had never been...

**

* * *

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**Author's Notes**

It was bound to happen; Ron's love life and Ron's missions would inevitably conflict, leading an unstoppable Kim to meet head-on with an immovable Bonnie. I hope this is a good resolution of something that might have happened, and that the drama played out rather nicely, with the good contrasting of how shallow some of Bonnie's issues are with the greater reality of the dangers out there.

For the most part, she's worried about the smaller things, like who wears the pants in the relationship, or one-month anniversary (I never got this) and all-round jealousy over small things, when she should have been more worried about Ron's health in general. I guess it is a wake-up call for Bonnie.

Anyway, I got one last thing to add to my ANs, and that is, in the words of Bonnie Rockwaller, "I hate Patrick Dempsey!"


End file.
